2D & 3D | Mackenzie Hewitt

THE DAUGHTERS OF LEUCIPPUS

Embroidery and mixed media on cloth

Sophomore Studio

Winter 2019

The current trends of victim blaming and attitudes toward women have been shaped by the actions and attitudes of the past. In this piece I aim to show the way women’s voices are absent from classical portrayals of rape, by physically removing female subjects and placing them in a new context, drawing attention to the gaps left by men. By doing so I attempt to disrupt the historical rape narrative by showing what the situation and effects may look or feel like from the women’s perspective or to a female viewer.

I continue with my use of embroidery, imposing modern testimony onto historical figures to connect the past to the present; showing that we currently treat rape victims in similar ways to the past. By displaying these similarities and bringing awareness to the lack of representation of female victims of rape in history, I hope to refute the myth that women secretly enjoy rape and can’t be believed, in a continued effort to deter victim blaming.

WHY DID YOU WAIT SO LONG?

Embroidery

Sophomore Studio

Winter 2019

Often times in sexual assault cases the emotional and psychological trauma survivors endure is devalued, allowing for victim blame. I intend to reclaim the traditionally feminine medium of embroidery because those who blame victims also tend to value traditional gender roles. In this piece, I aim to highlight the severe mental, emotional and spiritual trauma endured by survivors of sexual assault, through firsthand testimony. I organized a workshop with survivors of sexual assault, where I taught them the meditative craft of embroidery and they contributed by embroidering their own testimony, or the testimony of others.

VICTIMS

Cotton fabric, beeswax, ink, string

Methods of Inquiry

Winter 2018

With this piece, I wanted to challenge victim blaming in cases of sex trafficking, since most victims are seen as consenting. I used puppet strings to demonstrate how victims aren’t physically forced but mentally coerced into trafficking. My hope with this piece is to expose the psychological and emotional damage done by traffickers. If authorities were to understand this, it’d be much more difficult to accuse these victims of being criminals. This piece has been commissioned by a local group that works to educate people about human trafficking, and end it.

60 DAYS OF PAINTINGS

Acrylic

Methods of Inquiry

Winter 2018

In this piece I was challenged to do something for 10 minutes every day for 60 consecutive days, and create a cumulative peice. These paintings reflect my feelings for each day, each color coordinates to a specific emotion, and the proportion reflects how much of each emotion I felt throughout the day.