Untitled/Unnoticed

Feminicide is defined as the killing of women and girls because of their gender, where outrageous acts of violence are visible. In Mexico, these crimes are surrounded by impunity and lack of interest from society, which allow them to spread and be normalized or viewed as a type of social cleansing. Melissa Wright introduced the term “Public Women,” which refers to how women outside the domestic realm are viewed negatively. That those found on the streets are considered prostitutes regardless of whether they are students or workers. These views blame the victims for being abducted, tortured and killed, and exempt the perpetrators from responsibility.

Untitled/Unnoticed addresses feminicide by employing used intimate white garments as representations of bodies. The embroidery as an invasive procedure contrasts with the pristine cleanness of the clothes. The mechanical torture that the needlework applies serves as a metaphor for the violation of these female bodies. The ghostly appearance of the pieces also relates to the title of the series: Untitled refers to someone without a name or who has no right or claim to social status, and is thus ignored. Unnoticed refers to the limited visibility of the matter because of its unpleasantness, thus the need to spread awareness.

* Wright, Melissa W. (2006). Public Women, Profit, and Femicide in Northern Mexico. South Atlantic Quarterly, 105:4, 681-698. DOI: 10.1215/00382876-2006-003