about "The Scream"

i explained in this post a little of what lead me to make The Scream. it's basically a piece about violence against women, a subject that really sensitizes me not only for being a woman, but also for being human and for dreaming and working for a better world based on respect and equality.

my first certainty about this work, in my brainstorm, was that I didn't want a piece that was oppressing or showed only the pain of the violence or abuse. I wanted something that could have a "voice", that could help people to reflect about how to change things.

I first envisioned a monochromatic piece, in brown tones, with some hints of red. but once more I couldn't help myself and distributed warm colors all over. they ended up contributing for the dynamism and strength of the piece.

the symbolism of the piece is quite simple and direct. there's a dual figure in the center. it might be the same woman in two different attitudes, if you like. the red-haired one is scared and in pain. she holds her bleeding heart and wears a mask to keep herself hidden from judgment or other losses. she might be the one who was raped in a party after drinking too much, the one who was abused for a family member but preferred to hide in order to do not cause disturbances in the family, the one who was beaten for her husband but kept silent for fear of losing her children. she might be one of the Congo women. she might be me, or you.

the black-haired woman doesn't wear a mask. she is screaming - although sometimes I think that she is in fact singing. what she releases from within herself is a bird, red as life. is the desire for freedom from a world conquered by force, not love. she screams her right to be treated as a human being instead of a second-class citizen, as a partner instead of a subordinate. her right to express her own ideas and have their own attitudes without being demonized for them.

there are also masks at the bottom, a pile of masks without faces behind them. they once belonged to women who decided to scream instead of keep silent and anonymous. that decided to stop pretending that that's how the world is and there's nothing that can be done to change it. but there's so much one can do just by having a voice... to demand political and social responsibilities. to educate the new generations toward respect and non-perpetuation of old habits that put men in a privileged position. in other words, to demand respect for being human.

the scream

here it is. description later!

the scream is finished... but not totally here yet

I finally finished The Scream today. as I was not able to scan it, I'm posting the last pics from the process. 









I really liked the way the top of the picture came out. the red stripe with white flowers in the black hair, on a warm colors background (not visible in details here) sort of look like Japanese art, which I enjoy very much. that was not my intention tough, but probably I'll start doing more things in the same style.

in progress: spirits + the scream

Ascension and The Scream.

I've been able to accomplish more than I expected these last days and I'm happy. sometimes I think there's some kind of magic around here that makes me able to do so much and being a mother at the same time.

"Ascension" is almost done. it lacks only a few details now.

I decided to cut off some inches of board at the sides since I wanted to "lighten up" the figures and all that blue and violet in their hair. I committed the mistake of using too much warm colors like yellow and brown in the surroundings, and that kind of stole the attention from the middle.

I've also started working in my next project, which I've been calling "The Scream":







for the ones who've been visiting this blog for a while, this is the picture I planned to make about violence against women. I brainstormed the concept for several days and came to the conclusion that I should express something more dynamic than simply portraying the sadness and despair of the violence victims. I wanted to show solutions and hope. I then decided to "blend" two women: one in attitude of despair and another in attitude of rebelliousness and of breaking of the silence. because I believe that women must stop keeping their mouths shut, for fear, shame or even love. I understand the difficulty of all this. I myself had been a victim of such situations of abuse and this piece is my very own scream... and I wish it could be a scream for other women too, an invitation to put their "masks" aside and rebel. please DO NOT ACCEPT BEING ABUSED. you are a human being, and many times so full of love that you are unable to react. and for the authorities and society in general, I wish more understanding and compassion. I wish you could think in more ways to protect and support the victims of abuse and help them restart their lives with dignity. being a woman has to be a reason for pride and celebration, not to be fearful or feel humiliated.

when this piece is completed, I'd like to offer the rights of reproduction to pro-women rights groups, in case of interest to use it in items that can help maintain them or any other useful purpose. please contact me if you have interest or know somebody that may have.

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.

oh, that classical beauty...

I am a total fan of female beauty. not of the today Photoshop bodies, but the real one, that comes from within with all possible truth.

looking at these beauties only reinforce in me the idea that today women need to rediscover their own selves...

from Vintage Lovelies.