By Skylar Mullin
Puerto Rican artist Marta Pérez García’s sculptures of women’s torsos filled H.J. Patterson Hall’s Atrium on Tuesday as a reminder of gender based violence.
The University of Maryland Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center invited García to exhibit “Bearing Witness” for Latin American Heritage Month. The exhibit documented the names of women killed in Puerto Rico weekly during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she created “Bearing Witness” so that they would be remembered as people, not statistics.
“They’re human beings,” García said. “Women that have a name, that have a life, that have kids, that have part of the community.”
The display also featured dozens of handcrafted dolls that women survivors made during García’s workshops in Washington, D.C.
Garcia said an important part of the process for her was to connect with people who had experienced violence before creating art about it herself. During the workshop, the women made the dolls to represent themselves, allowing them to express their feelings through art.
“One thing that was really beautiful is to understand the importance of art and how art is like a vessel for people,” García said.
She noted how personal each doll felt, and that each woman felt comfortable enough to tell her own story.
García followed a similar idea by using real names from women who were killed for their torsos. The five on display hung suspended by wire, without any limbs or head, the focus being on the paper-made woman’s physique. One of the torso’s featured a set of dentures placed among the genitals, drawing attention from viewers.
Sophomore neuroscience major Veronica Brickhaus said the exhibit was provocative and an important reminder of the violence women continue to face.
“I thought it was very vulgar, but not in a negative way,” Brickhaus said. “I think it really showcases how there’s still a lot of women’s violence going on in the world.”
The materials being used are important for García. As a printmaker, she chose to use paper, a material she thinks is “stronger than people think.” García explained how she almost “fought” with the paper as it shrank or changed shape, forcing her to adapt.
“I think that fight and that not being comfortable with the material and just working with it. I think it gave me this kind of strength,” she said. “It’s almost like working collaboration.”
García is thrilled the university invited her to conduct workshops with students and have her art displayed somewhere other than a museum. During the workshop, she paired students together and encouraged them to have conversations about their community, then outlining their partner’s body and writing freely about the experience.
LACS’s interim director Abigail McEwen and program manager Maya Labarca planned the event that offered food for attendees and CARE to Stop Violence pamphlets.
“Everyone at UMD has a place here,” Labarca said. “And that’s how they should feel, you know, excited and kind of empowered to share about their background and their history and their culture.”
Featured Image: Marta Pérez García speaks to the audience of her art exhibit “Bearing Witness, at its opening reception on Sept. 15. Photo by Josh Hananel.