Hostage

 

Themes: domestic violence, IPV, femicide, behind closed doors, isolation, conflicting exterior / internal personas, social perception, captor mentality, fear and intimidation. 

 

Description: This work intends to provide viewers with an intimate perspective on what home life looks like for victims and children of domestic violence. It consists of a repurposed vintage Victorian-style doll house with a classic fairy-tale exterior. All interior walls, ceilings, floors including select objects, have been covered with camouflage patterning to metaphorically simulate a war zone. Employing this visual treatment reflects on both the victim’s voice and the victim’s tyranny over them.

 

Date: 2021

Dimension: Doll house on plinth 27” x 19” x 40”, various 1:12 scale objects, base plinth 48” x 48” x 8.25”

Installation: Behind Closed Doors Exhibition 2021, O'Connor Group Art Gallery, Chilliwack Cultural Centre, BC

 

Acknowledgement: This artwork was facilitated by a British Columbia Arts Council Project Grant during the pandemic to draw attention to the plight of victims being hunkered down 24/7 with their abusers during enforced Covid lock-downs.