I had lived in London for only a few days. Thrown headfirst into the hustle and bustle of Elephant & Castle, I hadn’t even unpacked before Fresher’s Fair came around and I found myself trying to navigate the buses, crowds and my overwhelming nerves. I stumbled into a coffee shop, feeling like I had been on auto-pilot the whole day. I was handed my coffee, that I couldn’t even remember ordering, and that’s when I noticed the small tattoo on the barista’s arm. I recognised the tattoo immediately as ‘The Drowning Girl’ by artist Fidjit. This tiny marker indicated that I was not alone in what I was feeling that day. I’m not saying that the girl even knew me or what I was feeling at that moment, but that seeing her tattoo pulled me out of my anxious thoughts and kept me going on a day that I just wanted to climb back into bed.
Fidjit’s Drowning Girl series began as a painting inspired by the death of Virginia Woolf. It portrays a woman’s face, peeking over the waves. It is a symbol for issues such as anxiety, depression and PTSD. It is estimated that over 2,000 people now have this same tattoo, and are a part of ‘The Drowning Girl Club’. There are over 1000 variations of the image. Some are lighthearted, with party hats, balloons, some even depicting a famous celebrity. Others are more personal, tailored to a client’s own experiences with mental health. Speaking to Folks Magazine, Fidjit said, “I don’t have any interest in just drawing pieces that have nothing to do with my brain or me personally. I’m lucky in that a lot of my clients are on the same wavelength, so they’ve specifically picked me because something I’ve done has spoken to them in a certain way.”
- The Drowning Girl Club
-
Over 1000 people are a member of The Drowning Girl Club.
- ‘I believe you.’
-
Fidjit creates a visual representation of the complex and powerful Miss M case.
The Drowning Girl is only growing in symbolic power. In 2019, The Drowning Girl became a symbol for the #EndNotProven campaign. Advocated for by Miss M, who cannot be named for legal reasons, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the ‘not proven’ verdict seen in Scottish court cases. Miss M, a former St Andrew’s University student, accused a man of rape and was left with the verdict of ‘not proven’. This means that he was cleared of all charges. Miss M took out civil action against the attacker, and the case is now known as the first in Scotland to have succeeded. A flash day, organised by Miss M and Fidjit, saw 76 people tattooed with the Drowning Girl symbol in support of the survivors. An incredible £4530 was raised for Rape Crisis Scotland.
The original meaning behind The Drowning Girl is now far removed from the original. It moves away from an identification with the mental health issues of artists such as Virginia Woolf, and instead becomes a signifier of acceptance and healing. Seeing the little drowning girl on the barista’s arm pulled me out of my anxious thoughts, and helped me keep my head above water.