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| An Installation by Rebecca Feiner (family room in continuum part II), is a revised piece. |
| speak out or consent |
| In May '99, the original installation, "Family Room", was partially destroyed by members of the artists family. Since then, she has gained protection of the court, whose decision affirmed her right to exhibit her work. Ironically, the aim of the artist is to attempt to 'de-sensationalise' the issues of child sexual abuse. Perhaps one of the last taboos of the 20th century, which is so often treated by media and public alike in hysterical fashion, leaving little room for informed debate and response.    The chosen focus of the artist is on the universality of personal journey & survival. Highlighting the positive, by representing cycle and continuum. By taking the personal risk of choosing herself as a living document she challenges the very premise of what we are traditionally presented with - the crying and often suicidal victim, face blacked out on our television screens. Rebecca states: "These images only serve to reinforce the powers of the abuser. It's not our secret, it's theirs".  Instead of retreating, the artist has responded in this revised piece, with a subtle boldness. The installation essentially, allows the viewer to find their own meanings and truths in the work, giving room to contemplate and not just 'react'. Through the use of strictly objectified texts, suggestions of domestic scenarios, & images presented in documentary style, the piece purposefully has an atmosphere, more akin to a subterranean museum than a gallery. As the viewer moves through the various rooms of this work, occupying the vaults of this one time bank, a standpoint unfurls, of philosophies of survival and routes into freedom. |
