By Sara Leonard
2nd Place, Visual (3D), Create | Encounter 2023
Artist Statement:
This is a 3D Fiber Art wall hanging sculpture made by needle felting wool onto fabric and felt pieces.
The image is of an infant within the womb. The background is that of a sunset, or a sunrise. It all depends on the perspective and the choice. It could easily be a sunset, the mother choosing to end her child’s life. Or it is a sunrise, life within the womb. The child wants to live, this is shown by the way the child reaches up for the sun. Holds it in their hand.
The scissors are a violent tool in this image. If the mother chooses for her child’s life to end, then the scissors are symbolic for the abortion the mother will undertake, dismembering her child, cut to pieces. The sunset.
Within the scissors are several images. A green skull on a syringe, a noose, a crying child, a needle pressing into a cell, barbed wire and a blue mask. The scissors don’t just symbolize a violent death for the child through an abortion, but many of the atrocities committed against human life.
The noose symbolizes suicide and capital punishment. The syringe with the skull symbolizes euthanasia. The needle pressing into the cell symbolizes stem cell research. The crying child is symbolic of child abuse, human trafficking and slavery. The barbed wire on the handle of the scissors is for unjust war and torture. The blue mask represents genocide and is based off of the Uyghur protest mask.
The Consistent Life Ethic is the value of human life from conception to natural death. The image of the preborn child represents our most innocent, most fragile citizens. If you are willing to end their lives for any reason, then there is no moral barrier stopping anyone from committing any of these atrocities against you.
If we do not value human life at where it begins, then it cannot be valued at all. By saying, “These humans are not human, or less than human,” we allow for every crime against humanity: slavery, abuse, unjust war, suicide, human trafficking, torture, euthanasia, stem cell research, abortion, genocide. It all comes from a place where life is simply unvalued.