FREE AS A BIRD

LOCATION: Amsterdam, Netherlands

A huge land portrait spanning almost two football fields. On December 10th 2012, International Human Rights Day, the gaze of an anonymous Mesoamerican woman, human rights activist.

This campaign raises awareness for the plight of Mesoamerican women who are illegally targeted and terrorized for defending human rights in that region. It was commissioned by feminist foundation Mama Cash and created in one week with the help of 80 volunteers.

The phrase Vogelvrije Vrouwen in Dutch has a deep literal and figurative meaning. Vogelvrije literally means “free as a bird” but also has the connotation of a person who is outside the boundaries of the legal system, someone who is not protected by the law. Vrouwen means “women”, thus the campaign slogan, Vogelvrije Vrouwen, sheds light on the women whose struggles for justice and freedom are threatened by institutionalized impunity.

“I chose to use fertile soil to create this piece as a metaphor for what can come forth from the vision of these women if it is respected and allowed to bring about change.