Desconocida Unknown Ukjent included in the exhibition The Common Thread @ Regional Justice Court Munich Lenbachplatz 7 Munich

About the exhibition: The Common Thread  - Sexual Violence against Women in Conteporary Art. What's the Point? The Common Thread is to raise awareness through the arts about the global pandemic of sexual violence against women: which is a consequence of false dogmas, inequalities and stereotypes. For this reason the exhibition takes place within the time-frame of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25th of November) and will be the kick-off event for the awareness month organized by the local women’s shelter and the city of Munich’s equality commission.
 
Exhibition Dates: November 5th until 30th, 2015 @ Regional Justice Court Munich Lenbachplatz 7 Munich

What is The Common Thread? The proverbial saying ‚common thread‘ relates to a theme or characteristic found in various stories or situations; thus becoming a metaphorical symbol for the exhibition concept. A woman’s choice of clothing is still entangled with stereotypes and the accusation that they are jointly responsible for the deliberate provocation of men and sexual assaults. The artists in the exhibition stress this omnipresent cliche by working with clothing/fabric as a material or conceptually. They refer to the DIY-culture and transform it into a „Do-it-together-movement“. As a result this becomes an activist network and collective display in the public space.
Curator/Organization: Dr. Alexandra Verena Mackel
Artists: Barbara Hartmann (Germany), Lise Bjørne Linnert (Norway), Stephanie Müller & Klaus Erich Dietl (Germany), Shari Pierce (US)

Desconocida Unknown Ukjent: It is two years since last time Desconocida was on display, but not showing the project doesn´t mean it is not expanding. Many workshops have been arranged these two years, among them students at Pestalozzi International Village Trust and students at University of Huddersfield, UK.

This weekend we arranged two workshops here in Munich. One of the participants worked at a Women´s shelter in Munich. Instead of embroidering Unknown she came with four names of girls and women being murdered here in Munich by their husband or father. Two, Lilly and Anna were murdered by their father 9 and 11 years old because he lost full custody.  He killed himself afterwards. The women also shared that every day in Germany a woman is killed by her partner or previous partner.

In Juarez the situation for the women sadly remains the same or worse. From 2010 to 2014,  727 women disappeared from Ciudad Juárez. More information here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/02/did-mexican-cops-help-kill-the-girls-of-juarez.html

In 2016 I have worked on Desconocida Unknown Ukjent for 10 years, close to 7000 nametags have been embroidered (6000 of them installed on the wall in Munich), 4800 people have been involved in  workshops arranged globally. I plan to bring the labels back to Ciudad Juàrez and Mexico city next year and in collaboration with activists and local organization use the embroidered labels in varied actions. In Mexico city and I want to show them to officials from the Government.

Attached are images from installation in progress and workshop in Munich. All photos by Barbara Hartmann.

Workshops arranged in London and now in Liverpool

This week I am in UK arranging workshops for Desconocida, preparing for the exhibition in London and Liverpool in September. I was able to come thanked to generous support from the Norwegian Embassy in London. Two workshops were held in London on Monday and Tuesday, both well attended and I think they both created important conversations over the topic. Today I arrived in Liverpool and have had one workshop this afternoon at Victoria Gallery and Museum. Tomorrow there will be another one from 2 - 4 PM. Welcome!

As I came home to the hotel I found a message from Marisela Ortiz, founder of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa with a link to an article in El Diario, MX. The article is in Spanish. I have copied a google translation of it here. The important message is that representatives from the mothers of the victims in Ciudad Juarez are meeting representatives from the Government in Mexico City...
Can something happen?

Best Lise

http://diario.mx/Local/2013-07-02_414d441b/se-reunen-funcionarios-federales-con-madres-de-mujeres-desaparecidas-y-asesinadas/
Translation:
Federal and state officials are meeting right now with mothers of women reported missing and murdered young mothers.The meeting was scheduled after the members of the Committee of Mothers of Young missing marched in Mexico City and emplaced the Interior Minister, Miguel Angel Osorio Chong.Given the refusal of Enrique Peña Nieto to meet them during the 'sit' who performed last month, federal officials came to this city to know the status of the records."One of the objectives of this meeting is to restore cooperation mechanisms with the National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence against Women, as we know it is at the request of the mothers of the missing young or deceased," said prosecutor Ernesto Jáuregui Refugio Venegas, head of the Special Prosecutor for Attention to Women Victims of Crime by Reason of Gender.This first meeting will talk about the status of the research portfolios of girls reported missing and were later killed, will also address the issue of the possible attraction of records, he added.And although the authorities start in the two levels of government have not confirmed that this is a fact, that is the constant demand for the mothers to the little progress that register their cases."We have defined what are the first actions, not defined whether to deliver or not records of first instance this meeting is to strengthen mechanisms for cooperation," he reiterated.After the change of federal administration officials for the first time there is an inter-agency meeting to address the issue of human trafficking in the border, women's murders and disappearances of women.Among the public servants who went to Ciudad Juarez is Lemon Leah Garcia, Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Ministry of Interior.Also the head of the Office for Human Rights of the Attorney General of the Republic, Ricardo Francisco Garcia Cervantes, the Attorney General for Regional Control, Criminal Proceedings and Amparo, Alfredo Castillo Cervantes.Rodrigo also Archundia Barrientos, head of the Office of Special Investigations on Organized Crime (Siedo) of the PGR and Laura Borbolla Moreno, Special Prosecutor on Crimes Committed against Freedom of Expression, also of the PGR.lsosa@redaccion.diario.com.mx

Another attack on women in Ciudad Juarez

http://lapolaka.com/depravados-al-descubierto/Please see link for more information. (in Spanish)

The need to continue the focus is sadly ever present...

In my studio now, I am counting the labels, preparing to travel with it to UK in the fall. The massive number of labels with all the names and the unknown hand-stitched, (I think the number will get close to 6700), has become a universal statement of the need to not forget and continue the fight against abuse and violence towards women as a global issue.

In September 2013 Desconocida will participate in two exhibitions in UK. The first one is
in London, opening Sept. 19th at One Mayfair, titled In the Name of Honor. This is an exhibition and auction in support of the Sara Charlton Charitable Foundation, which is a grant-making charity dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse, including honor-based violence, in the UK.  Curator is Jenny Christenson in collaboration with Christie´s London. The wall of labels will be in dialogue with a large number of international artists´ work. All are brought together to bring focus on abuse of women as both an international and national issue. In addition to the wall of labels, I will make three objects for the auction. The money raised in the auction will solely go to help victims of abuse in UK.

The second exhibition, titled Remember Them will open at Victoria Gallery&Museum
in Liverpool, September 27th. The labels will  be divided between these to exhibitions, about 3500 installed at each venue. In the upcoming exhibition in Liverpool the wall of labels will be in dialogue with Teresa Margolles site specific installations, Brian Maquire´s portraits and Julian Cardona´s photographs; all dealing with femicides and violence.

I coming to London and Liverpool first week of July to host workshops. I will post further details about where and when as soon as they are set.

Thank you.

Best Lise

Workshops and labels sticthed

Monday I received 126 labels stitched in by Lewes Soroptimists, students and staff of Pestalozzi International Village Trust in UK and students from Susmita Ghimire´s primary school project in Nepal. They are beautiful. Thank you so much! They are now installed on the wall with the rest of the labels.

The wall is almost done now, last labels will come up today. Yesterday I visited Wexford Campus School of Art and Design and arranged a workshop there. Some of the students from this school helped me last week with the installation. Great help and they had to travel for more than an hours to get to Visual. The last session yesterday evening was with the volunteers at Visual - a group of more than 20 engaged people.

Today Norwegian choreographer and dancer Runa Rebne arrives here. We will be working on adapting our performance Ukjent to the room in Visual. The performance will be held at the reception Oct 24th.

Thank you.

Best Lise  

Information from Ciudad Juaréz, Diana Washington Valdez

I received an email from Diana Washington Valdez, writer and reporter living in El Paso, USA, yesterday with an update on the current situation in Ciudad Juarez:

 - About 1,500 girls and women have been murdered in Juarez since 1993. Young women and teenage girls still disappear from Downtown Juarez. The city police is making inroads into all other crimes, but doesn't seem to touch this area.

- In my book I wrote that the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Mexico and Moreles could be considered one region or the same region, because the Juarez drug cartel entrenched itself in all three states. The new president of Mexico, who assumes the office Dec. 1, was governor of Mexico state when crime grew rapidly and the drug cartel continued to expand. He did not have a good crime-fighting record as governor, and has ties to powerful and corrupt people in the state of Mexico. Chihuahua, Morelos and the state of Mexico are battlegrounds for the drug cartels.

Desconocida Unknown Ukjent in An Oasis of Horror in A Desert of Boredom, VISUAL Center for Contemporary Art, Carlow, Ireland

I arrived in Carlow on Thursday to start installing Desconocida Unknown Ukjent in VISUAL Center for contemporary art, Carlow. The exhibition titled An Oasis of Horror in a Desert of Boredom, includes works of Brian Maquire, Ireland and Teresa Margolles, Mexico. Mark Mcloughlin and Lanka Haouche Perren are showing documentary films and photos from Ciudad Juarez.

The wall to hold the labels is this time 3,4 m tall and 8,8 m long and will eventually be filled with 6100 - 6200 labels. The last ones being stitched here in Carlow in workshops this week and next week. I am also waiting for labels that are being sent from UK.

I am so lucky that in addition to all the great help I get here at Visual, I also have my father with me as an assistant. Very patient and very hard working. Today we had a group of art students and staff at Visual embroidering and helping out. Many are coming back tomorrow.

The wall is up, and we have almost finished the second verse of the lyrics. ( The labels are on the wall spelling the lyrics of the Mexican and the US anthem interwoven in Morse code. )
Best Lise

Wave of Violence Swallows More Women in Juárez

Article from the New York Times, pointing to the continuing murders of women in Ciudad Juaréz.

See link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/world/americas/wave-of-violence-swallows-more-women-in-juarez-mexico.html?_r=1

Lise

Mexico´s presidental election and updates on Desconocida

The president election in Mexico is coming up: July 1st. Washington Post had a presentation of the candidates and their party. The Mexican youth protest in streets against corporate media and the PRI candidate. See the two links under for more information.

At the moment Pestalozzi Village Trust located in East Sussex, UK are involved in Desconocida Unknown embroidering with their students. The students responded with such engagement, many
wishing to carry on in smaller groups so that they can stitch and talk having seen the documentary.(Lourdes Portillo´s film: Missing young woman) More groups are getting involved in the same area, through the support of Susan Walton. I am very thankful for this! The labels embroidered here will be included in the upcoming exhibition of Desconocida in Ireland, October 5th at Visual Center for Contemporary Art, Carlow. Soon groups in Carlow will join and embroider labels in workshops arranged there. I am traveling to Ireland this summer to start off these workshops.

Thank you all for joining. Thanks to your involvement the pink wall in Carlow, will carry at least 6200 labels.

Best Lise

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexicos-presidential-election-the-old-may-be-new-again/2012/05/26/gJQAF8mPuU_story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexican-youth-vote-on-the-streets-against-corporate-media/2012/05/31/gJQAngWs3U_story.html