WHY?

The issue of domestic violence is not new. Violence perpetrated by one person on another whom they know, often in intimate or close family relationships, seems particularly repugnant. This is violence that takes place in an environment where the victims should be able to live in peace and safety, without fear, trusting that they will be respected and cared for. Although domestic violence is a highly sensitive and complex matter, the artists of Sydney Art Exchange, made the decision to expose some of the conundrums of the issue after recent contact with people affected personally by the violence.

With the proliferation of online news and social media, we are exposed to stories of domestic violence every day. We read the statistics and follow the desperate circumstances of people without a safe refuge from physical violence and abuse, of people who are subjected to coercive control and psychological abuse and, most tragically, of those who lose their lives to the scourge of domestic violence.

And always we ask WHY is this happening? Do today’s moral standards lack fortitude and resilience? Can it be laid at the feet of power inequality because of age, gender, insecurity, social attitudes, loss of a sense of belonging…? And WHY does it seem impossible to turn the violence around or to nip it in the bud before it begins to manifest?

Sydney Art Exchange does not have the answers to these questions exploring domestic violence but instead intends this performance and installation at Articulate Project Space to raise awareness of the issues. The artists see this as an opportunity for us all to pause and consider domestic violence, to give those who are affected by domestic violence an opportunity to talk with others about their experience and for visitors to write their thoughts and their own questions on a wall in the space. It is a chance for us all to consider domestic violence and to talk with others about WHY there seems to be no resolution to this issue.