SUZANNE LACY

In the video installation De tu puño y letra (By Your Own Hand) (2014–15/2019), people who identify as men appear in succession and read excerpts from letters in a factual tone. The letters contain shocking reports of brutal gender-based and domestic violence that elicit deep sense of trepidation. The reports range from sexual assault to group rapes and femicide. The film material was shot in Quito, Ecuador, at an arena for bullfights, a male-connoted space that is traditionally characterized by violence and dominance. The circular arrangement of the projections transports the exhibition Visitors to the arena, directly confronting them with the words and gazes of the participants. The life-size images make the physical and emotional challenge of the performance tangible.

The conscious decision to have people who identify as men read the statements of victims who identify as women emphasizes the role of patriarchy as a structural basis for the violence. At the same time, the discrepancy between the male voices and the female experiences become a central element that encourages viewers to consider and reflect on gender, power, and credibility. The projection ends with a key message that raises the perspective from an individual to a social level: