Girl to 5-F, collage

by Jo Reimer

The Girl to 5-F
11.5 X 30"
collage on heavy paper

Following a troubling discussion about human trafficking I spent a good part of the next day thinking about this abhorant practice, imagining myself in the shoes of a woman caught up in this trade. This piece is the result.

Girl to 5-F, detail

There are ways out and people who are working to combat the practice but it feels like a drop in the bucket... so alien to the culture in which I live. I thank God for my life and beg for mercy for those who are mired in it.  Read here about organizations which strive to combat human trafficking.

The collage papers used in "Girl to 5-F" are representative: decay, filth, sin, loss, oppression, desire, need, hopelessness...  hidden underneath a beautiful facade.  There are floor numbers, windows and doors, a man on the phone, a woman climbing the stairs...  hidden and implied meaning.

Not all art is beautiful or about beautiful things.