Introduction to
fear in fragment

It was many years ago when I imagined the possibility of looking more deeply into what impels prejudice, bigotry, discrimination, stereotyping within the human population. Historically all of these have been with us probably as long as humans have been human. And we all know they remain with us now. At some level, historically these prejudgements served some protective purpose. However, for a long time they mostly have worked against us. They damage relationships, prevent fair treatment, harm people emotionally and sometimes physically as well.

Fear in fragment was conceived as an opportunity to introduce individuals without some of the layers of expectation we often begin with when meeting another. I chose the judicial system to approach this. We carry many preconceived notions relating to where we each fit within the system. And the parameters are easy to see. Prisoners, for instance, are generally behind locked doors and high walls. Lawyers and judges, social workers etc. they pop up often in the halls of justice, and the police wear uniforms that define them clearly. We don’t all feel the same things about these different groups, but we are aware of the delineations. So, I chose this system to explore our preconceptions.

My premise, and I’m sure it is only part of the picture, is that fear has a significant role to play in forming bias. And what we don’t know inspires our fears. I could write a lengthy paper on this. What I chose to do instead is draw and interview a lot of people.

This process took about 4 years. I drew about 50 people. (I’ll have to actually count.) Some of these people worked in the system. Some were in prison at the time. Some were in that vague other group that were currently in neither of the first two groups.

From all this work I painted images of each person using an intuitive palette. I gave each person the opportunity to make a statement of their own to contribute to the exhibition. Most people followed through with this. I created a mural that moved from action through arrest to court proceedings with witnesses surrounding the scenario. I made high bars to divide people from one another.

In the exhibition itself the bars were ambiguous at first because when you entered the room you had no idea whether you were within prison or outside of it. Everyone was drawn in the same style. Only when you took the time to read the statements provided could you place yourself. And in reading the statements you were forced to learn something about an individual that you could never tell just by looking.

Over several years this exhibition traveled to many different venues. It began in the Northwestern National Exhibition Centre and moved to a judge’s conference in Vancouver, a women’s conference at UNBC, a cross-professional conference in Quesnel BC, two prisons and an inner city church. Now it sits idle in my studio stacked up against the storage room walls. But I look at it piled there, now and then, and think - this is still relevant. The people who participated still have words and values and personalities to share. Maybe now I can make a public forum for these people - give their voices a new space.

That is the reason for this website.

The format cannot be the same as the exhibition, but everyone is here, their voices are as clear as ever.
I dedicate the site to them with thanks.

And to you who take a look.

You will meet some extraordinary people.

A comment on victims

Throughout the duration of this exhibit, of the many people who responded in writing or to me verbally, just two people expressed a concern that the group we label victims did not have a forum in the the show. I have thought about this often since because surely there are victims in the mix.

My intent in this work is to fragment the barriers and boundaries that separate us, give us the opportunity to encounter people we otherwise would not and, with that, also a chance to realize that perhaps the fears we have can be a springboard to bias, discrimination and the resultant fragmentation of our society. Maybe this can be a small step to undo some of the damage, open us to understanding. I used the justice system, but it is not only about our justice system, it is about the breakdown in relationships that lead to prejudice at every level.

Nevertheless, there are victims of crime, crime identified by the law and crime never seen.

Victims do not exist as a separate group in fear in fragment. If you read carefully you will see indications of those who have been victims in every walk of life brought to your attention here. Some speak openly. Some demonstrate their damage by their behaviour towards others. Some are hurt too deeply to speak. Some simply prefer their privacy.

I will tell you now that I too am in this group. I have never made this public before, but I hope that my doing so will help you to understand some of what underpins this work. More than once I have been robbed and too often mistreated sexually, most often by one of my teachers in high school. This is not something I disclose lightly, and I believe I have learned much since then and have gained strength, but I am among the victims, and I want you to know that I have not forgotten the others as I created this show.

One more thing

There is one experience I want to include here.

In the two institutions where I was able to hang the show for the benefit of inmates and staff members, I was assisted in hanging the work (with all its bars and images and the mural) by people from the prisons. Each time it was meaningful. But the time at the Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women had a special impact. We hung the show in the gym, a large bright room, with the usual cement decor.

There were just three of us: me, one of the inmates and one of the guards. We three women worked together for the many hours it took to put everything together, including trying to figure out how to attach the paintings to the concrete walls! We discussed it all and solved problems together. As we worked, we talked of who we were, what we liked, some of our hopes. We laughed and bonded. We forgot what was official and simply were three women working together to a common end. It was precious.

In that room, for that short time, there were no divisions.