Not My Problem (?)
silk screenprint on paper, pastel, nails
Artist Statement:
My piece delves deeper into the concept I explored in a past project, ‘Glitch: Will It Ever Be the Same?”: the duality of the tranquil side of walking alone as well as the dangers someone may face in the dark streets. Rather than solely focusing on my experience of paranoia at night, ‘Not My Problem (?)’ investigates the systematic reason behind these experiences as well as how women are told to deal with them by society. Rather than creating a safer environment or fixing the root of the issue in the Philadelphia area, women are told to ‘fix’ themselves or take precautions. Similarly, the system fails people from a young age causing the disparity.
The utilization of screen printing refers back to another project of mine, “Repeat After Me”, where I used the medium to discuss social issues in college communities through a propaganda format. Rather than being direct (with propaganda), I use screen prints to refer to the societal standards and systematic response to violence (just as screen printing is very mechanical). The screenprints incorporate phrases that may be said to women as they express their fears or are told to do before going out. The imagery on the prints refers to walking at night and the one of a septa train station specifically references the rail on which a woman was recently sexually assaulted on a rail line while bystanders did nothing to help.
On the other hand, the prints have a pastel overlay of questions we should be asking ourselves or women already ask, such as “Why do I need to rely on other people?” and “Why do I feel responsible for being in danger?” The smudginess of the pastels demonstrates the grey area and lack of clarity and help around this issue. Likewise, the pastel’s contrast to the sharp screen print background represents how women are supposed to accept and be flexible to society’s lack of guidance.
The presentation of the prints bleeding/pouring out of a crack or corner of a wall represents how this is a topic that inflicts pain on many levels to various groups of people in society and is a reference to Abraham Cruzvillegas’ “Blind Self Portrait: Glasgow-Cove Park”. It also represents how those who are in danger often feel cornered by such situations as well as the fear of how those around them will act once they open up about their experiences.
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