Red Lipstick
Acrylic on Gessoed Canvas Paper & Essay
Framed Original 16.25”w x 19.25”h x 1.25”d
Diptych $725 US (+applicable taxes and shipping)
Prints Available
(Framed Painting and Framed Essay)
This piece is part of my “Resilience Project”, a series of artworks and writings exploring sexual violence, gun violence, PTSD, and resilience. Every painting is a conversation with the canvas, my closest confidant and reflection of my soul. “When the words are too painful, I swallow them with paint. When the words will not come, images emerge like excited utterances refusing to be denied.” * I imagine a woman dancing. Suddenly, she sees her rapist enter the room. She keeps moving, levels her gaze on the horizon, and raises her arm in a call for action. Resolute, she is a modern Lady Liberty seeking to bend the arc of the moral universe towards Justice.
Rape is not new. Rape is not rare. Nothing about rape is fair. 1 in 4** women are sexually assaulted. 97.5% of perpetrators walk free***. Rape is uniquely stigmatized. “Alleged” haunts every discussion of the crime, shading credible recounting and recovery. Society and the Justice system swirl with myths and gaps in understanding and equity. An unprosecuted case is a null case as if it never happened. Gagged by libel laws, victims are subjected to compounding traumas of seeing and interacting with perpetrators even decades later, still unable to share our truth.
Our stories should not be hidden to protect the guilty. Our bodies, our minds, and our lives will continue to be carved by secrets until we find a way to shine a light into the dark depths and free our souls.
The “Me Too” movement showed how much trauma women have absorbed at the hands of abusers. It started many conversations, but we have far to go. The Dodd decision overturning Roe v. Wade shows we need to do more than talk. Organize. Engage. Women have been told we are lesser and proven to be unequal under the law and that must change. Together, when women gather and do what we do, we are the beacon, and we are the ones who will make “The Difference.”
“Red Lipstick” is more than a name. Bold lip color draws attention to our faces, to our words, to our stories recorded in a courtroom, or whispered to ourselves between sobs. It is accessible to all, a symbol of solidarity we personalize. It is a warrior’s mark. Powerful.
This empowered woman stands with (for) us all wherever we are in our journey. If you are safe, embrace the dance with her. If you are experiencing trauma or re-traumatization, she (we) will dance by your side, sharing her (our) strength. If you are ready to change the world, she (we) will lift your voice and join the fight.
Justice begins with us.