"Reclaiming & Making: Art, Desire, Violence" Exhibition: Museum of Sex (2021) / by Katya Berger

EXHIBITION

“Reclaiming & Making: Art, Desire, Violence”.

The Museum of sex, New York, United States.

November 4th, 2021 - February 8th, 2022

“Man does not merely seek in the sexual act subjective and ephemeral pleasure. He wants to conquer, take, and possess.” – Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (1949)

Sex and violence share a complex and intertwined history. As an institution devoted to the full history, evolution, and cultural significance of human sexuality, the Museum of Sex aims to break the silence surrounding these issues. Reclaiming and Making: Art, Desire, Violence presents fourteen international artists who have faced and challenged sexually motivated violence through artworks that date from the 1970s, to the present day and a screening of the Sex Workers Project documentary Sex(ual) Healing(2021). These artworks ask us to bear witness both to the reality and history of sexual trauma, and to the resiliency, agency, and healing power that survivors of such trauma manifest. They are showcased in the hopes of developing a safer, healthier, and more liberated sexual culture.

Curated by Emily Shoyer, the exhibition presents ‘Flowers V’ (The Cut), an artwork which offers a subtle and gentle probe into the difficult subject matter of FGM/C. The viewer is confronted with a cascade of femininity within the powerful pink tones and layers. Beside the artwork is a barcode linking viewers to the educational extract of ‘One Thousand Voices’.

https://www.museumofsex.com/portfolio_page/reclaiming-making-art-desire-violence/