If you don´t want to see it, erradicate it

Zubillaga, Álava //2020

As part of the Basque Government´s “School for Women´s Empowerment” (LaiaEskola), I was invited to produce a participative mural in the town of Zubillaga. A year earlier a local woman was murdered by her husband, just another example of gender violence. Although we set out to produce a painted mural, in our brainstorming and discussions the group chose to intervene on the side of the building instead. By creating artworks that “camouflage” themselves with the building´s facade, the group illustrated how gender violence is part of our everyday and it´s choosing not to see it that allows it to continue.

The group created panels the exact size of the stones that form the building´s facade, creating a piece that invites passersby to reflect on the expectations placed on women, the control and violence they suffer and ultimately the desire and hope to break free of these cultural mores.