Are you startled? Do you feel uneasy or rather moved to help? Do you find yourself under her spell? Or all that and more at the same time?
Her emotions of being marked storm at you. It can feel like an accusation. She is cornered, humiliated, hurt, sad and angry. She is close to tears and waits to see what comes next. Very alert, also anxious. When you look again she looks as if she feels guilty, even though she is not to blame. Uncertain yet determined.
A human being appeals to you. Her eyes compel you to comfort, yet she frightens you. You are puzzled by her beauty and by her revealing party dress. Her hair is fashionably straightened but spiky. She wears no jewellery. Her beautiful hand reveals her brandmark: 1865, the year slavery was abolished in the United States of America. When you realize this, she instantly becomes the image over the continuation of a mindset. The consequences of transatlantic slave trade, severe racial and also gender injustice and abuse are aggressions that still go on, every single day and all over the world. It is like an “endless, intact chain letter posted centuries ago”(Stephan Sanders, The Aftermath Effects of Colonialism).
‘Branding’ is an outrageous image. Exactly. Stigmatising and stereotyping. It is fiction and it is not. She represents all victims of racial discrimination, human trafficking, lack of safety for women in the club circuit, physical and sexual attack and psychological intimidation. Objectifying or literally possessing people is a multifaceted and widespread problem globally, also in post colonial societies. Branding, as a word, is used millions of times a day referring to marketing strategies, the process of creating distinct programmed ideas in the minds of the population. In that sense it also refers to the powerful negative branding of entire groups of people that started a long time ago.
This contemporary ‘tronie’ (portrait painting genre dealing with expression) is an intense plea for racial and gender equality. It is about compassion too. She is aware of the crime against her, she is fragile, hurt and small, but as a human she is still resilient and powerful. It is just that she cannot stand alone. Looking at her you are confronted with your own humanity. How do I look back? Do I see a human in distress or do I see all kinds of categories? Does her discomfort stir me to action or do I think of ifs and buts? Do I want to see and understand the truth despite my own prejudices?
Her pure and silent scream for justice breaks my heart.
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Image: Hansa Versteeg ‘Branding’, 2021, oil on canvas, 110 x 100 cm
Written by Anikó Ouweneel-Tóth