The Waiting Room / Domestic Violence Tableau
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TABLEAU
Invisible
Sheer domestic curtains slipcover, PVC ‘house’ armature
The Facts
Audio composition: actors read personal accounts of abuse
Chemical Healing (Bruise)
Lambda platinum print encapsulated in acrylic
Slip-away Suitcase
Modified vintage suitcase with upholstery, pockets and escape items
Surviving
Headphones; audio recordings and sound compositions: Under the Surface, I Want To Stop, Superman, The Best Choice, Life on Life’s Terms, Seeking Change
On entering the space, the first thing you see is a pattern…. or something…a colorful splotch. This is not an abstract painting, but a depiction of an actual bruise (or contusion) blown up to the average height of an American woman. This design contains drawings of (invisible) hemoglobin molecules layered over the blue, purple and yellow bruised skin colors we can see. To the side is an upended mattress, box springs exposed and filled with prayers and notes for victims of domestic violence. In front of the box spring, an open suitcase has one padded side to receive a broken, tilted table chair. Transparent pockets on the other side contain items counselors recommend that women considering leaving an abusive relationship keep hidden and packed, ready to go.
In the corner a fabric structure floats above a single chair, sort of like a roof, a tent, or maybe a kid’s fort. Enter the sheer, skin-like shelter, sit in the chair, put on the headphones and listen to stories based on recent interviews with survivors of abuse. Through translucent layers of domestic curtains, both the (vulnerable, half-exposed) sitter and the exterior space are murky, there but not there –as is the violence that so often occurs behind closed doors, keeping victims ‘invisible’-- even in plain sight.
Domestic violence is illegal, misconstrued, perpetuating, and sometimes fatal. It affects both women and men in all economic groups, ages, ethnicities and sexual orientations. It is particularly malicious as the physical and psychological injuries afflicted are from our most needed and trusted-- intimate partners and family members. While it can happen to anyone, most affected are women; roughly 1 in 4 women will be in an abusive relationship at some point in their lives. Women under 25 are at the highest risk, and most cases of domestic abuse remain unreported. Invisible.
The Waiting Room / Domestic Violence Tableau
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TABLEAU
Invisible
Sheer domestic curtains slipcover, PVC ‘house’ armature
The Facts
Audio composition: actors read personal accounts of abuse
Chemical Healing (Bruise)
Lambda platinum print encapsulated in acrylic
Slip-away Suitcase
Modified vintage suitcase with upholstery, pockets and escape items
Surviving
Headphones; audio recordings and sound compositions: Under the Surface, I Want To Stop, Superman, The Best Choice, Life on Life’s Terms, Seeking Change
On entering the space, the first thing you see is a pattern…. or something…a colorful splotch. This is not an abstract painting, but a depiction of an actual bruise (or contusion) blown up to the average height of an American woman. This design contains drawings of (invisible) hemoglobin molecules layered over the blue, purple and yellow bruised skin colors we can see. To the side is an upended mattress, box springs exposed and filled with prayers and notes for victims of domestic violence. In front of the box spring, an open suitcase has one padded side to receive a broken, tilted table chair. Transparent pockets on the other side contain items counselors recommend that women considering leaving an abusive relationship keep hidden and packed, ready to go.
In the corner a fabric structure floats above a single chair, sort of like a roof, a tent, or maybe a kid’s fort. Enter the sheer, skin-like shelter, sit in the chair, put on the headphones and listen to stories based on recent interviews with survivors of abuse. Through translucent layers of domestic curtains, both the (vulnerable, half-exposed) sitter and the exterior space are murky, there but not there –as is the violence that so often occurs behind closed doors, keeping victims ‘invisible’-- even in plain sight.
Domestic violence is illegal, misconstrued, perpetuating, and sometimes fatal. It affects both women and men in all economic groups, ages, ethnicities and sexual orientations. It is particularly malicious as the physical and psychological injuries afflicted are from our most needed and trusted-- intimate partners and family members. While it can happen to anyone, most affected are women; roughly 1 in 4 women will be in an abusive relationship at some point in their lives. Women under 25 are at the highest risk, and most cases of domestic abuse remain unreported. Invisible.