The best night of my life
Wow - how do I even begin to describe this? The night in question is January 23rd of this year (2026): the opening night of my Things Men Have Said To Me Instead Of Hello exhibition at MDS Gallery in Copenhagen.
The show marks the culmination of a year’s worth of work, and apart from what I’ve shared online, it’s the first time this work has been shown publicly. I had no idea what to expect, how people would respond to it, or even if anyone would come!
We arrived at the gallery quite early so we could take some nice promo/behind-the-scenes shots (which you can see below). I was so fortunate to be surrounded by some wonderful friends who all pitched in to help me have the best night possible, including the lovely Jennifer (those of you who watch my vlogs will recognise her) who filmed clips for me all evening. You know what that means - a YouTube video of the whole event is on its way!
And of course, my best beloved Lars was behind the camera all night too. All the following photos are thanks to him.
(Click the images below to enlarge them)
Having a laugh and getting promo shots before the event began
The event was due to begin at 7.00pm. And at 7.03pm the place was packed. Like wall-to-wall, could barely move packed. And people kept pouring in for the next two and a half hours.
The response to the work was mindblowing. I’ve never been to an art opening where the attendees actually paid much attention to the art, but here it was the sole topic of conversation. We’d put QR codes under each piece linking to the blog posts (you can find those here), and everyone was clicking through and reading all about the work, and then discussing it. I had so many amazing, deep, personal conversations that night - people were thanking me, coming up to me in tears, telling me stories that hurt my heart. It was incredible and overwhelming and better than I could possibly have hoped for.
I was so surprised and delighted to see so many men in attendance - I hadn’t been expecting that. One guy told me that art wasn’t usually his thing, but he’d come along to keep his girlfriend company and he was blown away. He said the show had opened his eyes to something he had never really thought about, and now he thought everyone should see it.
There were also a number of gay men there who confirmed that this shit was happening to them too. I’m not surprised to hear that - the patriarchy’s evil fingers somehow get into all the pies.
One thing I was really gratified to hear from multiple people was how disarming the work was. Mel (my gallerist) hadn’t shared much of the work itself in her promotion of the exhibition, so most people were there on the strength of the title alone. Several people said that they’d come expecting something man-hating and radically feminist. They’d expected to be offended and angry, but because I had presented these words and phrases without judgement, and made them beautiful and funny, people came away feeling empowered and joyful instead.
One brilliant addition to the event that Mel added was a blank paper wall where people could add their own “things men had said to them instead of hello”, and over the course of the night it filled up with a selection of creepy, heinous, tedious, awful “greetings”, that showed definitively that my experience was certainly not unique.
All night I felt like an absolute rock star. Everyone in the room was talking about my work and my ideas, everyone wanted to talk to me, confide in me, take selfies with me, take videos of me. Even after everyone had gone home and it was just a few close friends left, they were still talking about the work and the conversations they’d had and overheard about it. I can’t describe the high it gave me, but suffice to say I totally understand why so many artists develop a drug habit - the come down from this phenomenal night was brutal!
It was all so incredibly validating, after spending a year alone in my studio in full goblin mode, tripping on hot glue fumes, with no idea if what I was doing was worth a damn.
Mel & I congratulating each other on a successful event
I’m so grateful to Mel for seeing the first couple of early pieces and immediately believing in the project so wholeheartedly - she did such an amazing job with the exhibition and she’s done this work proud.
If you’d like to read her curatorial statement for the show you can find it here.
Chilling after everyone left - I don’t smoke any more btw, but it seemed fitting
This isn’t over
The exhibition is up until March 8th 2026 (which just happens to be International Women’s Day), so if you’re in Copenhagen or surrounding areas then do make sure you come along to see the work in person - it’s a completely different experience from seeing it on screen.
Upcoming Events
We have not one but TWO more events coming up - the first is a workshop on Saturday 7th March where you can exorcise some of the awful things men have said to YOU. I’ll be there and we’ll be having lots of creative, cathartic, feminist fun. You can find out all the information and book your tickets here.
Then on Sunday 8th March we’re hosting a live Q&A with me and a very special guest where we’ll be talking about the work and this whole project in detail, along with the history of feminist art and art as resistance. More details to follow so make sure you’re on my newsletter list if you’re interested in that.
The Things Men Have Said To Me Instead Of Hello Book
Finally, I am currently putting together all of the writing, images, behind-the-scenes shots, reflections, stories and more into a gorgeous hardcover artist’s book which will be available very soon.
So even if you can’t make it to Copenhagen to see the work in person, you can take home a tangible piece of this collection. Again, newsletter peeps will be the first to know when it’s released, and pre-orders will open soon.
And speaking of tangible pieces of this collection, don’t forget that the Send Nudes zine is still available here.
Find out more about Things Men Have Said To Me Instead Of Hello
