The last weeks we have lamented how men in South Africa abuse, rape and murder women and children. In cities vocal protests were held against Gender Based Violence (GBV). And quietly in her studio in Muizenberg an artist has for many years been stitching the stories of womanhood. During these demonstrations, Willemien de Villiers drew a painting of male genitalia (similar to her stitching technique) and wrote on her Facebook page ~ \u201cSerendipity. On this very difficult day for South African women, I found myself painting a diagram of male genitalia. My brushstrokes were gentle as I imagined feminising them, taking away their power to hurt\u201d. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nwrote this in her blog ~ \u201cGrowing up in this completely segregated and\nseparated community, combined with early childhood sexual abuse (maternal\ngrandfather), left me with the gift of hyper vigilance, and a sensitivity to\nthe presence of abuse in others\u2019 lives. Silence is the perpetrators\u2019 best\nfriend, especially in countries where patriarchal systems still rule, as is the\ncase here, in South Africa. Working with reported details of domestic abuse\nhelps me to cope in our violent society. It helps me to heal. While stitching,\nI feel close to those who\u2019ve suffered abuse. In return, I hope that the\nfinished work will inspire conversation, or a different way of thinking. Will\nraise awareness\u201d (2016) and later \u201cOften I return to imagery of the female\nbody, and reproductive processes and organs \u2013 images of botanical and mammalian\nwombs that magnetically pull ideas from my mind. What comes first: meaning or\nmaking? Maybe I am hoping to stitch all my selves together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am\nfascinated by the textures and tactility of her stories on textiles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nhonesty and painfulness of her work. The beauty. In a recent article on her\nwork in \u201cStitch & Illo \u2013 every stich tells a story\u201d, she contemplates ~ \u201cI\nalso love the idea that there are always two sides to the finished story or\nwork: the front, and the reverse side. Both are equally valid and beautiful\u201d.\nStitching is a calming activity, but can also be violent ~ \u201c Needles are very\nsharp and indeed, blood sometimes flows. Whenever I accidentally prick myself,\nI always let the blood seep into the cloth I\u2019m busy with, adding one more stain\nto the landscape. Sewing is a process of emotional repair\u2026It is a form of meditation: a devotional act even.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nsometimes ponder if her work appeals to men \u2013 why men don\u2019t buy her work\u2026\nPerhaps stitching is a very unique and a very powerful way in which women can\ntell their stories. And perhaps some men will look and gently trace the stories\nof women under their fingertips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notes:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nphoto is from the Facebook page of Willemien de Villiers Artist on https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/willemienstudio<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her\nblog is: https:\/\/willemiendevilliers.wordpress.com<\/a>\nand also see http:\/\/willemiendevilliers.co.za\/<\/a>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The last weeks we have lamented how men in South Africa abuse, rape and murder women and children. In cities vocal protests were held against Gender Based Violence (GBV). And quietly in her studio in Muizenberg an artist has for many years been stitching the stories of womanhood. During these demonstrations, Willemien de Villiers drew …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":497,"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493\/revisions\/497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodystory.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}