CUT THE ROPES

2017 | Crossroads Center Art Space | Beijing |  China

Solo Performance

Solo Performance in Collaboration with NGOs, Woman Rights Organizations & UN Women China

For my art installation UNTOLD STORIES, 500 white shirts were tied together with thick ropes to form a huge globe. There are only a few shirts lying on the ground that are connected to the globe with a thin line of blood. This pile of shirts found their way out of the harmful prison of silence that is the globe, which allowed them to be written on.

We are here today to portray our determination to break the silence of women affected by all kinds of gender-based violence and discrimination.

The event is intended to show and confirm China’s social and societal support for these women, the seriousness of the violence, and the commitment to end it. It allows the WOMEN IN THE DARK to express themselves and assures them that people want to hear what they have to say. The act of cutting the ropes by members of NGOs and human rights organizations helps the shirts fall down and “frees“ them from being held back. These shirts will be picked up by professionals and handed out to the women who want to speak out.

In 2016 China created their first law against domestic violence. This law is very politically significant; however the cultural roots of domestic violence still need to be changed in order to remove pressure and dramatic consequences for the women. Women need to feel safe to report violent husbands and family members to the police and to seek separation from their abusers.

Franziska Greber
Artist & Psychotherapist
Switzerland

IMBALANCE

International Culture & Art Centre Meixi Hall | Changsha | China | 2018

International Group Exhibition

IMBALANCE | 2018
chairs | shirts & dupattas | texts by women from 6 countries | table | lamp | chairs | books with all texts | 800x600x400cm

LOAD | 2018
shirts | wigs | metal grid | 600x400x100cm

(The installation LOAD was banned and dismantled by the government of the Hunan Province before the opening)

Curator
Zhen Guo | Artist | New York | USA

UNTOLD STORIES (Photo)

China-Europe International Contemporary Art Global Tour | Shanghai | 2018

Group Exhibition
2018 Bund NO.27 | Global Investors Hub | Shanghai | China

弗兰齐斯卡·格雷伯:瑞士艺术家。她曾担任苏黎世州司法和内政事务局反家庭暴力干预中心的联合负责人;曾担任心理治疗师,监督员,组织顾问;并在大学和学院教学。她在多种学术期刊和书籍上撰写了大量文章,并在日内瓦和维也纳担任联合国活动的发言人。她参与了许多戏剧项目,曾是一部关于抑郁症的纪录片《灵魂的影子》(SeelenSchatten),以及一部关于家庭暴力的故事片《夏季游戏》(Giochi d’estate – Summer Games)的剧本顾问。2016年,她发起了国际艺术项目《黑暗中的女人们》。该项目使得生活在社会黑暗中的女人们发出声音——她们通过使用红色马克笔在白色衬衫上写下自己的经历、痛苦、希望和愿望。只有与各自国家的相关组织合作才能实现这一目标。到目前为止,参加的国家有津巴布韦、塞舌尔、毛里求斯、中国、印度、瑞士、智利和德国。女性服装被展示为艺术装置,记录女性书写的过程以照片、书籍和视频的形式展现出来。弗兰齐斯卡·格雷伯 (Franziska Greber)曾在中国举办过几次团体和个人展览。


Franziska Greber is a Swiss Artist. She was former Co-Head of the Intervention Center against Domestic Violence at the Directorate of Justice and Home Affairs in the Canton of Zurich, worked as a Psychotherapist, Supervisor and Organization Counselor, and taught at Universities and Colleges. She has written numerous articles in academic journals and books and was a Speaker for UN Events in Geneva and Vienna.  She was involved in many Theater Projects, was a Script-consultant for a documentary film about depression “SeelenSchatten” and for a feature film about domestic violence “Giochi d’estate – Summer Games”.In 2016 she initiated the international art project WOMEN IN THE DARK, which gives women who live in the dark of society a voice by writing their experiences, pain, hopes and wishes on a white shirt with a red permanent marker. Achieving this goal is only possible in collaboration with organizations in the respective country. So far participating are Zimbabwe, the Seychelles, Mauritius, China, India, Switzerland, Chile and Germany. The female garments are shown as art installations, the documented writing process of the women as photos, books and videos.

Franziska Greber had several group and solo exhibitions – also in China.

CURATORS

Ma Yiying
Artist and curator, vice president of the Oil Painting Academy of China – Contemporary Fine Arts Institute of Culture, 2018 Chinese Annual Art Event. Representative Exhibition: Chinese Abstract Art (UN) Exhibition
Shenzhen

&

Longjing Li
Curator and art broker
Shanghai

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MUTE

Art Museum Jiangxi Normal University | Nanchang | China | 2019

International Group Exhibition

MUTE | 2019
25 Black shirts | Ø 300cm

(Model)

VOICES | 2019
Video | 10:20 min

Speaking is often in conflict with different interests. When, why and what women express depends on many factors and is also country- and culture-specific. Values are an important reference, as is safety. It’s a thin line whether the raised voices are resonant and impactful or fall silent again.

BOOKS | 2019
The two books contain all texts read in the video VOICES by women from Switzerland, India and Zimbabwe

CURATORS
Xiong Yunhao | Nanchang | China
Xiao Shang | Nanchang | China

UNTOLD STORIES (Photo)

2019 | Art Center 117 | Ningbo | China

Group Exhibition

Curator Ma Yiying
Artist and curator, vice president of the Oil Painting Academy of China – Contemporary Fine Arts Institute of Culture, 2018 Chinese Annual Art Event. Representative Exhibition: Chinese Abstract Art (UN) Exhibition
Shenzhen

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Digital Film Festival | China | 2020


International Group Exhibition

Baturu Cultural Festival Film Festival Hong Kong and China

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UNFINISHED BUSINESS | Film | 08:46 min

INITIATOR & CURATOR
Li Dan | Director | Beijing | China

The Baturu Cultural Festival Beijing units with the China Women’s Film Festival in Hong Kong to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995)

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