From One White Woman to Another
From One White Woman to Another is a holographic medallion designed to conform to the aesthetic of the Women’s March through mimicry of the handcrafted "pussyhat." The central hologram is placed within bubblegum pink labia, surrounded by fuzzy latch hook shag, neon pink pussyhat ears and suspended on a hand-embroidered "pussy power" ribbon. Much like Medal of Freedom, From One White Woman to Another mimics community-identifying adornment so that it may enter these communities and criticize them from the inside.
From One White Woman to Another with hologram unlit
From One White Woman to Another with hologram lit
The "pussyhat" rose to national popularity shortly before Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017 as a symbol of left-wing "resistance." Thousands of women donned these bright pink hats for the Women’s March. The pussyhat was intended by its creators to serve as a unifying symbol for women of all races, ages, and backgrounds. However, the pussyhat is far from a revolutionary symbol of political resistance. Although it is based on a well known Trump quote, the pussyhat’s name itself is less than inclusive: centering a celebration of womanhood on cis women, neglecting to include trans and non-binary communities. Thus, from within its friendly, fuzzy, pink labia, the hologram in From One White Woman to Another hopes to encourage a moment of self reflection: "WHITE WOMEN ARE COMPLICIT."
Pins for an Ally
In Pins for an Ally, the complicit role of jewelry in performative activism is again satirized through an absurd change in scale. In 2016, a fad arose in the activist sphere where primarily white women began wearing safety pins as a wearable representation of their support for communities of color and oppressed religious groups. Although they were a well-intentioned display of ideological "safety," wearing a safety-pin became a self-congratulatory symbol of "being one of the good ones" without having to have any hard conversations.
I altered the scale of these safety pins to question where the lines between authenticity and condescending performance is crossed. Perhaps even the smallest pin is an act of condescending performance. But what happens when this relatively subtle symbol is scaled up to demand even more social space? Does it become a self-aware condemnation of feel-good allyship or does it become an even more rude display of righteousness? Are all of these pins equally patronizing?