2020, knitted acrylic & cotton
Size: 100 cm x 100 cm
TRIGGER NOTICE: This post talks about child sexual abuse
Background to artwork:
I created this artwork in 2020 while waiting for the results of The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) The inquiry revealed that between the 1940s and 2018, 390 clergy members or people in positions of trust within the Church of England were convicted of child sexual offenses, with the report stating that “The culture of the Church of England facilitated it becoming a place where abusers could hide.”
The Church’s Role
As a Christian, I find this deeply disturbing. The Church has often appeared to give more consideration to perpetrators than to their victims. I recognize that abuse is not confined to the Church of England—some perpetrators were women, and abuse spans other denominations as well. Yet the Church has largely remained silent on these matters. As a survivor of child sexual abuse, I understand how hard it is to speak out or be believed.
Symbolism:
In this artwork, I imagine the victim using knitting as a means to expose the truth. They would be using this craft as a healing tool to cope with what they were experiencing. It has been well documented that Knitting helps improve mental health. They knit a phrase intended to look like a reverent reference to Jesus, but actually it is a coded message about abuse. I chose red and green to symbolize the Church’s colour blindness to the issue. The cursive calligraphy font mirrors that found in churches and old Bibles, giving the message an added weight.
The artwork is placed outside the church, representing the victim’s abandonment of trying to be heard within its walls and the necessity of going outside the church to seek justice.
My hope is that victims will someday be able to say, “He touched me,” not in reference to abuse, but as an experience of God’s true love. These abusers should not be excused but held accountable for their crimes in a court of law, regardless of their age or status.