But It Does Happen… deals with the devastating aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. As new laws take effect, children and adults are getting raped, pregnant, and forced to bring unwanted pregnancies to term. FBI statistics estimate that 167 females and 1 “unknown” were raped every day in America in 2022, the year the Dobbs v. Jackson’s ruling gave power to the states to make abortion illegal.
I painted 168 portraits of girls, women, and people with uteruses in a mugshot format to convey how rape victims are being criminalized for wanting to abort a forced pregnancy. Each victim looks straight ahead confronting the viewer while also seeking understanding. Their ages correspond with the FBI statistics, approximately half of which are fertile children. I laser cut the Supreme Court Case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization throughout their faces. By burning away the negative space between the letters the paper becomes cut out text that people can read while still being able to view the portraits.
I bound these portraits together into a book which mimics officially published Supreme Court Cases while also referencing a police identification blotter. As one reads the text they cannot ignore the victims affected by this ruling. The cut out spaces in each face gives you a glimpse of the other faces behind it making each victim lose their individual identity. The back of each portrait is pure white and looks like lace, representing the purity standard held over females.
