Installation Intent
"The installation asks participants to understand that it was never about the clothing and the act of shedding those clothes is never enough to bring peace or comfort to survivors. The violation is not simply woven in to the fabric of the material, it is a part of the survivor's new narrative. If only ending sexual violence was as easy as changing our clothes. Instead it requires all of us to evaluate what enabled us as individuals and as a society to ask, 'what were you wearing?' in the first place."
HISTORY OF THE INSTALLATION
The installation was founded in 2013 by Dr. Mary Wyandt-Hiebert and Jen Brockman and was inspired by Dr. Mary Simmerling's poem, What I Was Wearing. The two worked to develop a visual representation of the poem and received Dr. Simmerling's permission to use her poem with the installation. In September of 2013, student-survivors at the University of Arkansas shared their stories and what they were wearing in interviews with Dr. Wyandt-Hiebert and Ms. Brockman. They then recreated these outfits and the first installation was hosted at the University of Arkansas in 2014.
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