As of March 2010, more than 580 Aboriginal women have either disappeared or been murdered in Canada. To raise awareness about this racialized and gender-based issue, local Métis artist Jaime Black partnered with the University of Winnipeg’s Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies (IWGS) to present her REDress Project at the University of Winnipeg.
Black chose eight locations on the University of Winnipeg campus to display about 120 red dresses donated by people from many different cultures. The effect is simply stunning: Despite a very busy and noisy background of 9,000 students, they are so well positioned that they cannot be missed. The dresses just hang there, clothing with no bodies, creating an intense discomfort in the viewers. Visitors are left silent, unable to keep their eyes off the dresses, almost scared that moving around them could wake up some angry spirit.
The color red also works perfectly here. Beyond its obvious meanings − blood, sexual energy and violence − there is also the blatant reminder that Canada remains a white-centered, male-dominated society that constantly tries to dehumanize Aboriginal women, and break their inner strength.
There are two types of art: art that entertains and art that brings about positive change. The REDress Project is in the second category. It is a spiritual experience rather than a simple exhibition − something that has truly left me shaken to the core. Jaime Black literally "redresses" the balance, forcing us to face reality and our own passivity as human beings. By showing us the facts in all their painful simplicity and honesty, she invites us to embrace the ghosts of 580 mothers, sisters and cousins. Ultimately, she calls on us to stand up for a world where there is only room for equality, compassion and understanding.
The REDress Project deserves much more than the five stars I can give it.
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Cendrine Marrouat is a freelance writer/reviewer, blogger, published author and translator living in Canada. Official Website: http://www.cendrinemarrouat.com
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