Serena De Pascalis

It’s just past March 8th, a day that celebrates the achievements of women during the fight for equal rights and focuses the spotlight on what still needs to be done. The work of the italian artist Serena De Pascalis speaks clearly and invites all women to listen to find their own voice and claim their power over a society that is trying to suppress it Every 72 hours in Italy a woman is killed by a person she knows, usually her partner, and the homolesbotransphobic violence does not stop. More than 80% of violence takes place within the domestic sphere, psychological, physical and economic violence. 88 victims every day, one woman every 15 minutes. Numbers that are frightening and that we must try to counter in every way. Serena makes use of art, always a powerful tool of struggle and social denunciation to make her contribution to this cause. In "Reclaiming my power" we see the naked and unarmed body of a woman that stands out against a backdrop of looks; grim eyes that are not limited to observe but judge and denigrate without ever stopping. The gaze gives way to action and here we see on the sides traces of dirty hands that touch, grab and try to dominate and limit the fundamental freedom of women. These actions, unfortunately, still contribute to the humiliation, objectification and sexualization of the woman’s body. Just think of the still widespread female genital mutilation or the conditions of Iranian women subjugated by the regime. It hurts to think that we are in the 21st century and all this is still on the agenda. In the work we notice how the negative meanings are characterized by a black and white color while the female organ, emblem of this struggle, blooms like an orchid full of color and hope. All men and women must fight in one direction to make known, disseminate, inform and help. Because it is not enough to say "I do not act", it is necessary to say "I contrast". Because violence is of many kinds and not all bruises are so visible.