11 November 2023 – 28 January 2024

Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)

Thirty-Six is the first solo exhibition of Birmingham-based multidisciplinary artist Marley Starskey Butler (b.1987). It is influenced by their personal lived experience of social work and becoming a social worker later in life.

In Thirty-Six, Starskey Butler brings together artworks made between 2009 and now, across photography, video, audio and text. The works range from explorations of the artist’s own children’s services records, relationships with their multiple primary care givers and their wider contexts, to considering what it means to assess somebody else’s capacity to safeguard and care for a child.

Thirty-Six’s main themes revolve around family, empathy, trauma, identity and understanding. They all come together under a playful yet thought-provoking idea that by the time you are 36 and you've been an adult for longer than you were a child, the effects of any difficult childhood experiences should be resolved and no longer affect you.

Each exhibited work relates to one another through different stages of Starskey Butler’s adulthood, ‘ending’ before they turn 36 years of age.

Marley Starskey Butler was born in Leeds, raised in Wolverhampton and currently lives in Birmingham. They have concurrently pursued a career as a social worker, focusing on various areas, including child protection, fostering and adoption. In their role, they play a vital part in promoting well-being, social justice and human rights. The intersection of art, social work and Starskey Butler’s familial lived experience of social work equips them with the foundations and tools needed to create their artwork. This art delves into their inner world while addressing the challenging and sensitive subject of social work.

With thanks to Arts Council England and players of People’s Postcode Lottery for their support of this exhibition.