Throughout time, the voices of women have been silenced by gender bias, war, poverty, racism and religious persecution. “Jane Doe” brings to life the voices of forgotten women who have contributed to the framework of society, who carried on traditions of their ancestors, persevered and carried the dreams of their generation in their hearts. I chose the name “Jane Doe” as all of these women are unknown to us and yet they have had impact on our lives. I wish to honour them and to give voice to their stories. All of these stories are true and are based on information gathered from interviews with relatives, photos, letters and archives. My hope is that this exhibit will give others the courage to tell their stories.
Jane Doe gives voice to the average woman. The significance of this body of work is that it further enhances the concept of communication through the layering of sculpture, text, installation, painting and video.
Entering the exhibit, the viewer is surrounded by a forest of trees, which house the death masks of these women, signifying their bodies have returned to the earth. Here we encounter death.
On the other side of the forest the viewer is introduced to each individual Jane Doe in the painting, who emerge from the wax to tell us their stories, pieced together from fragments of memory. Underneath each painting, is an opened book that reveals their names, their photographed images and their story. Here we encounter sprit.
Beyond the world of spirit the viewer is introduced to a video of eight individual who share their experiences of both losing and finding their voices. In front of the video are two trees with two questions: “When have you lost your voice and when have you found it?” The viewer is now a participant and has the opportunity to give voice to his/her own experience by writing the answer on a tag and placing them on the trees. Here we encounter life.
