Throwaways – Art Against Slavery

Twenty seven million people are slaves in our world today.

One million of those are children.

More people are enslaved now than there has ever been in history. We are victims — victims of slavery, victims of ignorance, victims of ourselves being unwilling to solve or acknowledge this devastating problem of sex trafficking. With such a unfathomable experience, we often feel as though the problem is not our problem; however modern day slavery, sex trafficking, occurs both globally and in your backyard. Interventions are being pursued through creative means, the government, and several non-profit organizations in hopes to eliminate this repulsive truth of reality.

I had the privilege of attending an art exhibition by a good friend of mine this Friday around the issue. Interventionist work is one of my favorite kinds of art. Kayleigh Blanco and her co-part Nanette Bertoni put several works together. We got there at 5, and didn’t end up going inside until about 6:30pm. There were of course social reasons for the delay but I was honestly a little afraid and just hesitant. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to see what they had in store. The entire show was curated very well, with unity throughout and striking fact boards for those who are less susceptible to the power behind the visual displays. Please read on and see some of the pictures I took of the show!

  

This one really got to me. First, I was impressed by the beautiful simplicity in it with the earthy tones and triangular repetition. I looked past the red stitches that wrote “why does he hurt me,” and I think thats when I became overwhelmed by the reality of the matter. So many of these girls don’t know the answer to that question “why?” and they are looked past as human beings.

     

Ten girls in a room. This one symbolizes the dehumanization of the women as they are often placed in a room, to stand silently in minimal clothing for a man to come and select one. Sometimes a man would even pay and he would get to be in the room with all ten girls, raping any one he wanted for a certain amount of time. This work also symbolizes the loss of innocence, while still maintaining the integrity of being a beautiful flower. They are stitch-able, they can be healed and rescued.

Kate Blewett distinguishes between slaves of the past and slaves today, “The difference between now and colonial times is that in the old days slaves were worth a great deal of money and so were taken better care of. But these people are utterly disposable. They are cheap to buy and cheap to throw away.”

Our generation needs to stop reading statistics and start changing them.

There are ways you can get involved and play a role in the elimination of this terrible truth. If interventionist art isn’t for you, become active in an existing organization for the cause, tell your friends…but don’t be silent. We must speak up because they are forced to live a life in silence. They are worried about staying alive, or if they will see sunlight that day. What are you worried about?

P.S. There is this book I read in highschool called SOLD. It is very short, very emotional, and very worth the read about a young girl sold into the sex trade by her family in a foreign country.