LIBELLULA WOMEN’S CENTRE AND SHELTER
Trieste, 2012

The site was set in the Italian city of Trieste, with echoes of a melancholic hysteria masked by still waters. I looked to the writings of James Joyce when he resided in the city during 1910. Joyce wrote about the numerous prostitutes and brothels in the Cavana district. It was the relationship between these prostitutes and the sailors’ wives tiling the roofs that intrigued me.

This led me to research the women’s groups and societies in Trieste. I discovered that emergency shelter for abused women was very much needed. There is also a need for a large lecture space to hold talks on issues on or relating to women and abuse. Currently the centres that exist must travel to up to four different locations as they have no large space of their own.