Figurative Bust Sculpture

 

Pink Victim

Air-dry clay, wood, acrylic paint, ink

Left sculpture: 4.25" x 2.25" x 3.5"

Right sculpture: 5" x 3.5" x 4.5"

Whole piece: 12.5" x 5.5" x 11.5"

Statement:

    The topic I selected for this piece is human and sex trafficking. Through sculpture, I wanted to convey the idea that women are typically targeted for trafficking and often times are not able to escape the trafficking system. The figure pictured on the left, the female figure, is presented with a rope acting as a ponytail, wrapping around the neck and being attached to the stake that impales her. This represents the idea that women are often times targeted because of their ponytails--they provide an easy way to grab a woman and kidnap her. This leads to the victim being tied into the trafficking system and not being able to escape. The female figure will ultimately die through the system--she bleeds pink, representing all the women who have been subjected to this. The male figure, the trafficker, is presented above the female, symbolizing how he has power and control over those who are caught up in the system. He is pictured with a hat on to conceal his identity, and holding the rope that keeps the female figure from escaping. 

Research:

1. The FBI states their efforts to help with the human trafficking issue. Along with their statements, they quickly explain different types of trafficking. They write, "Under the human trafficking program, the FBI investigates:

• Sex trafficking: When individuals are compelled by force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex acts. Sex trafficking of a minor occurs when the victim is under the age of 18. For cases involving minors, it is not necessary to prove force, fraud, or coercion.
• Labor trafficking: When individuals are compelled by force, threats, or fraud to perform labor or service.
• Domestic servitude: When individuals within a household appear to be nannies, housekeepers, or other types of domestic workers, but they are being controlled and exploited."

https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/human-trafficking

2. In 2019, there was a total of 22,326 human and sex trafficking victims reported, 4,384 traffickers, and 1,912 businesses suspected of contributing to trafficking. Trafficking tactics include--but are not limited to--intimate partner/marriage proposition; familial; job offer/advertisement; posing as a benefactor; false promises/fraud; smuggling. The picture below shows the increase in trafficking from 2015-2019.

https://polarisproject.org/2019-us-national-human-trafficking-hotline-statistics/

3. Dressember is an organization that recognizes trafficking as a major concern and works to spread awareness of the issue, as well as raise funds to build teams that work to rescue people from the trafficking system, adjust them to normal life again, and prevent further trafficking. As stated on their website, "though we’re careful not to take the saying “it can happen to anyone” too literally (for sake of ignoring very real factors that make certain groups and individuals vulnerable to exploitation), trafficking is a crime that affects women, men, transgender individuals, nonbinary people, young and old across 163 countries and 175 nationalities. By reducing human trafficking down to a “women issue,” you also minimize and erase the very real experiences of nonbinary and male victims and survivors."

https://www.dressember.org/blog/aneveryoneissue

In-process pictures: