The Cut refers to the history of the Hackney Cut – a three-kilometre long canal on the River Lea, built in 1770 in East London – whose industrial and social history was threatened during the 2012 Olympic Games. The Cut chronicles these upheavals, inspired by testimonies from people living and working along the canal.

Jessie Brennan was born in 1982 in Great Britain. Jessie Brennan’s artistic practice lies between drawing and participation, informed by the social history of places and by direct engagement with the people who occupy them. Stories of people she meets, memories, folklore and myths related to particular places are central to her work. The information gathered during these exchanges and the exchange process itself are interpreted in meticulously detailed drawings.