Real and Imagined

“Real and Imagined” is a large, multi-media art project consisting of narrative fabric works and stop motion animations that are inspired by the #MeToo movement and the courage of women who report abuses of power and assault amid public skepticism. Recent news stories and studies have exposed the impunity with which women’s testimonies and experiences have been silenced or discredited and women “punished and blamed” (Manne). The title, “Real and Imagined,” is a direct reference to how a woman’s testimony is received: Her account is accepted as truthful by many, and simultaneously dismissed as imaginary by the court of public opinion.

This project uses a feminist lens to visualize everyday interactions from the workplace, medicine, and intimate relationships to give voice to women’s experiences of male entitlement. Using fabric cutouts and stitching on industrial felt, and stop motion animation, Kumao gives physical form to the intangible dynamics underlying ordinary conversations and relationships. Threads pulled taut, tangled thread, stitching, and the forces of gravity and friction visualize the unseen forces experienced by women, illustrating the unspoken power dynamics of doctor’s visits, one-on-one conversations, the workplace, domestic life, or the public sphere by freezing or replaying moments of vulnerability and precariousness. Intentionally minimal, each image distills an interaction, traumatic incident, or power imbalance into an accessible visual narrative.

How can an experimental approach to narrative bring new awareness to this subject and expose the impacts on women’s public and private lives? What role can poetic re-imaginings of charged events play in the larger social discourse?