From 19 through 28 June, hundreds of dresses will be hung outside the Nobel Peace Center. The dresses are silent witnesses to violence and abuse, and part of an art installation that honors survivors of sexual violence in war.
The installation Thinking of You transforms everyday laundry into a legacy of remembrance and solidarity with survivors of sexual violence.
The work is by artist Alketa Xhafa Mripa, who was born in Kosovo and now lives and works in the United Kingdom. She created it in response to the trauma and social stigmatization of the estimated 20,000 survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo in the 1990s. It was first shown in Kosovo in 2015 and has since been exhibited in Strasbourg, The Hague, Pristina, and New York. From 19 June, it will be on display in Oslo, in the square outside the Nobel Peace Center.
Dress from Gisèle Pelicot
Survivors from more than 20 countries have donated dresses to the installation and shared their voices and stories. Among those who have contributed are Gisèle Pelicot, who is visiting Norway this week, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege, who has donated a doctor’s coat used in the treatment of victims of sexual violence.
“The Nobel Peace Prize to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad in 2018 brought attention to sexual violence as a weapon of war,” says Kjersti Fløgstad, Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Center. “Thinking of You reminds us that behind the statistics on sexual violence are individuals who must never be forgotten and who deserve our support,” Fløgstad adds.
In the last ten years alone, the United Nations has confirmed more than 51,000 cases of conflict-related sexual violence. Ninety-five percent of survivors are women and girls, and 32 percent are children. The true numbers are believed to be much higher, and the vast majority of abuses go unpunished.
The public can donate dresses
Thinking of You opens on Friday, 19 June, on the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Artist Alketa Xhafa Mripa will be present at the opening, and the program starts at 11:30. At exactly 12:00, the peace dove will fly from the windows of the Nobel Peace Center in memory of victims of sexual violence in war. The event is open to everyone.
In the days leading up to the opening of Thinking of You, the public is welcome to donate a dress to the project by delivering it to the Nobel Peace Center. Both individuals who have experienced abuse themselves and those who wish to show solidarity with survivors are encouraged to contribute.
The exhibition is showing until 28 June, in cooperation with the Norwegian Women’s Lobby, Mental Health and Human Rights Info, the Embassy of Kosovo in Norway and the British Embassy in Norway.