Opening Reception: Friday, December 6, 4 – 8 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: December 6, 2019 – January 10, 2020
Rude Gallery
If walls could talk, what would be revealed? How many stories would be told on behalf of women who have, for one reason or another, stayed silent? This exhibition from RMCAD faculty member Kimberly Carey Putnam will feature 5 ceramic vaginas and an audio commentary on how we process negative sexual experiences.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
The installation If Walls Could Talk is my response to the Kavanaugh hearings that took place in 2018. I created it for all the women who were victims of sexual assault and for those who ‘might’ have been – it is meant to draw attention to what goes on behind closed doors. For me, the hearings and more specifically the testimony by both Ford and Kavanaugh brought back long-forgotten memories about situations and incidents that happened when I was a younger woman. Things that in retrospect were not okay; things that at the time were either laughed off, excused or simply kept to myself, being unsure as to ‘if’ what happened was actually cause for alarm.
Thirty-plus years later, that uneasy feeling felt at the time, still lingers. I believe that nagging feeling that something wasn’t quite right is my subconscious speaking to my conscious. By creating If Walls Could Talk, my hope is to inspire outward dialogue within the community providing an opportunity for voices that perhaps have not yet been heard to speak up and speak out.