VISUAL BLOG #4
3 Newspaper sculptures on sexual assaults and why they happen?
What a victim of sexual molestation faces? What is the psychology of the attacker? Why this regular series of sexual assault cases?
These are a few questions I’ve constantly wondered about as I read the regular sexual harassment headlines in the daily newspapers. Hence, those very headlines inspired the following sculptures. As I attempt to illustrate the answers to these questions with my minimal art, I hope you too can dive into the journey of learning more of this haunting offense.
What a victim of sexual molestation faces? What is the psychology of the attacker? Why this regular series of sexual assault cases?
These are a few questions I’ve constantly wondered about as I read the regular sexual harassment headlines in the daily newspapers. Hence, those very headlines inspired the following sculptures. As I attempt to illustrate the answers to these questions with my minimal art, I hope you too can dive into the journey of learning more of this haunting offense.
Sculpture #1 | The Part of her
you took
A newspaper sculpture about the lasting effect of sexual assaults.
A newspaper sculpture about the lasting effect of sexual assaults.
[Size : 80 x 40 c.m.]
A Poem;
Defined by your eyes, she became nothing but your touch.
Who knows what was before? Who sees what’s ahead?
But the part of her you took wasn’t her body, but her tormented soul.
As alive as an undead ghost, there she was,
Just to accompany the past, ever hidden in eternal shadows.
The inspiration;
Studies show the victims of sexual assaults exhibit the common feelings of guilt, shame and lasting trauma.
Going through a series of emotional and mental damages as they’re unable to set apart from the haunting incident.
Hence, this sculpture. The plain white body to show the isolation and emptiness, the expression of distress looking somewhere sideways, and finally a bright red hand to show the wrenching touch.
Sculpture #2 | Power not
pleasure
A newspaper sculpture about why the assaulter assaults?
A newspaper sculpture about why the assaulter assaults?
[Size : 15 x 6 c.m.]
A Poem;
The big man looks down, sees how quickly he ends,
What is he if not the man? What is he if not the defined masculine?
And there comes the spoilt child.
The man shall not be any lesser than he was meant for,
and hence he finds a way to feel more.
The inspiration;
Why men rape? Or what is the mindset of an attacker is a question with multiple answers.
But an often ignored aspect of it is the need to be “manly” as defined by the society. To feel power, to feel dominance, to feel control.
That is the one I’ve covered here. A small sculpture of a man standing proud, looking high up, drenched in the bright red. The red representing power and dominance.
Sculpture #3 | The helplessness
A newspaper sculpture about the society’s part it the ever- increasing cases of sexual harassments.
A newspaper sculpture about the society’s part it the ever- increasing cases of sexual harassments.
[Size : 30 x 35 c.m.]
A Poem;
Cruel or unreal, what’s been said shall be followed.
Now and ahead, exactly as it has been narrowed.
Why who asks? Well a million do,
What comes next is a strange, never answered truth.
Because, what answer shall we find?
Lost in the maze created by own etched thoughts.
The inspiration;
The society often trains men to lose emotions in the name of being manly. The same society often trains women to be silent in the name of being honorable.
And while sex education stays a hush-hush topic, the moral policing for women and the shaming of men for not being rough and tough stays a loud threat.
Hence, just two white hands stuck on the wall as a common depiction of the helplessness both the gender face in their own way. Our last sculpture in the series.
End Note;
These sculptures were originally to be posted on March 8th, Women’s Day 2022. How they got delayed 2 months is a story I shall not record here. But since I made them for women’s day, their story revolved around female victims. Hence, missing out on more diverse topics, most importantly that of false allegations and male victims of abuse. But at the end, I kept the work exactly as it was to be presented originally. So perhaps some other time we shall return and explore the missing pieces in this area. Till then that was my work and hope you enjoyed experiencing it, your comments are greatly appreciated.
Turn on the notifications with 
= never miss the work coming next!
– S.
[Published on : May 8, 2022]