Semester Project: As a Complaint- Karla Almonte

Illustration Progress

When contrasting the Yes Men and the Guerilla Girls’ projects to the one I am embarking into, which consists on bringing awareness to feminicide in the Dominican Republic, I encountered some themes that prevail in their work as well as mine. Although my project connects heavily to the Guerilla Girls due to the advocacy of feminist issues, the Yes Men inspired me to think about approaching my complaint in different ways as they have "managed to baffle and astound their audiences around the world".The purpose of my project is to bring light into the high rates of women killings in the Caribbean island, and how it continues to be impactful even though it is not talked about often. This will be done by illustrating the victims in a positive way alongside with statistical facts about the issue; the illustrations will be made into posters and will also be displayed on Instagram. 

Both the Guerilla Girls and the Yes Men utilized the approach of shaming organizations and corporations to get their message across, and advocate for change within those infrastructures. This seemed to work due to the bluntness of the activists and the abundance of information that they provided when advocating for a concern. For my project, I will be adopting the shaming technique but subtlety since it involves such a sensitive subject. By adopting this method, reaching a bigger audience will be facilitated as well as leaving a deeper mark; meaning the information being provided will resonate with the observer more. People enjoy honesty but to a certain extent, if one brings to the attention of the viewer an issue in an extremely harsh way, they will feel powerless and as if they cannot help to promote change. However, if one tries to state facts honestly whilst bringing a positive aspect into the table, they will be encouraged to advocate for change which is my intention.

My project is a complaint directed to the jurisdictional system in the Dominican Republic, a complaint directed to the people that possess the power to make this change, and a complaint for the rest of the community that silently watches and does not fight for the female lives that are being lost. I am creating advocacy by bringing the names of the victims back into conversation and by bringing awareness into the issue just like the Guerilla Girls did, with factual information that demonstrates how the issue continues to aggravate. Moreover, realistically my project is not designed to solve a problem, but to be the first step in order to dismantle the issue.

Sholette, G., & Thompson, N. (2004). The Interventionists: User’s Manual for the Creative Disruption of Everyday Life;. North Adams, MA: MASS MoCA.