ink, colored pencils; 20×16″
“Women in America that live in religious homes are more likely to be victims of abuse, in my research I found that the conservative pro-marriage researchers at the Institute for Family Studies, have reported that 1-in-4 highly religious U.S. marriages have intimate partner violence. I wanted my project to shine a light on this issue as well future children that are thrust into religions that they did not choose. The posing of the hands in my piece is a form of symbolism. The three sets of hands are all in a praying gesture that calls attention to the religious aspects of the piece. The way the vines force the child’s hand into this pose represent the unwillingness of the subject and how the baby had no choice over its life and specifically being thrust into a harsh culture at a young age. The mother’s hand also has vines on it, but she bares them only on a figure in the shape of a ring, this is meant to symbolize how many women in religious households become victims of violence, and that the struggles of women within religion is overlooked by the public. Nobody wants to be told that the way they live is wrong, and no one should be silenced within their own community.”
ARTIST BIO: Ava Campbell is a grade 11 student at Butler Tech School of Art studying art under art teacher Mary Catherine Ruby.