a delicate brainstorm.

violence against women is a theme I've been for a long time planning to explore in a piece. along with children's and animal's rights, that's a subject I am totally sensitive to. I think that every woman already felt in her own skin some kind of abuse or discrimination. they come not only in the form of physical violence or sexual humiliation, but in the form of words and abusive behaviors that are pretty much considered normal. like husbands who decline doing housework claiming that it is "women's work", for example. or rejected boyfriends that become a real torment in their ex-girls lives, thanks to their hurt "male pride", or for believing they have certain "rights" over her life.

I was born and raised in a very machist country, and although women in Brazil have theoretically the same rights as men, machist practices are so ingrained in our culture that are perpetuated even by the very women almost instinctively. almost daily I've been reading this blog, in Portuguese, by a Brazilian journalist who talks very often about violence against women. her posts have helped me enormously to develop my concept for the piece. I've been also researching works from another artists on the subject in order to observe how it's been represented. in my search I found Abro, this inspired, highly sensitive Pakistani artist, who says more with his powerful paintings than many of the women can barely suspect about themselves:



the paintings are clearly about Pakistani women, but I think that they can perfectly tell stories about women worldwide. in Pakistan, Brazil, America, or India. we are all both protagonists and silent spectators of a drama that unites all of us under a dense sheet of shame and tears.