19-Year-Old Reveals The Shocking Aftermath Of Sexual Assault In A Powerful And NSFW Artwork
Sometimes a single image can speak much louder than words, and this piece of art by 19-year-old student Emma Krenzer doesn’t just speak to us. It yells at us. The purpose of the piece, which Emma made for an art class at Nebraska Wesleyan University, is to show us the aftermath of sexual assault, and as you can see, it’s as powerful as it is shocking. She made it by taking a picture of a friend before printing out a life-size copy and painting it with her fingers. She then made a legend to the “map” in order to show people what each of the colors represent.
She completed the piece on the same night that she returned from a Women’s March in Washington D.C, and when she shared it on Twitter recently, the piece soon went viral with more than 125k shares and 300k+ likes. What’s clever about it is that it doesn’t rely on gratuitous imagery to convey its disturbing message. Instead it takes a simple idea and puts it to powerful use, in order to leave us with a shocking message long after we’ve finished looking at the picture.
More info: Twitter
19-year-old student Emma Krenzer created this art piece to show the impact of sexual assault
“I made this project largely for myself to actually visualize the lasting impact that touch can have on an individual”
“I thought about what was true for myself, and also, what I perceived to be commonly true for people in general, when I mapped out these touches”
She made it by taking a picture of a friend before printing out a life-size copy and painting it with her fingers
She then made a legend to the “map” in order to show people what each of the colors represent
Emma now plans to make a larger series inspired by this version
She completed it on the same night that she returned from a Women’s March in Washington D.C
She recently shared it on Twitter and her artwork soon went viral
The powerful piece resonated with many people who were quick to share their thoughts
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This is a great piece of art and at the same time, it is so sad to visualize even more what sexual assaults can do even afterwards. I have friends that have been sexually assaulted and when they told me they still live with this, even years after... I'm shocked. Even with your map, even with myself crying in front of your art, I don't even know what it feels like. Not even close. It must be so painful, physically and mentally. To all of you who have dealt with assaults, or still is dealing with it, I hope for all of you that one day, the hurting stops. Much love to you all.
It's so devastating! Telling how sexual assault can leave marks for your whole life. But I still do not understand how touching your relative's or friend's palm can be a touche (was that really romantic or erotic enough to call it a bit awkward or even an assault? We are humans, touching is a way to communicate and we shouldn't be scared of it... Now I can't stop thinking if a victim of rape or sexual assault becomes scared of a touch)
There are images of where people feel comfortable to be touched based on how well they know the person (a stranger is ok only on the hands, for example). All her body is touched since the legend signifies that she gets touched by people that are close to her (family members, lovers, friends). Private and vulnerable places such as the upper thigh, stomach have handprints. But the parts where only the orange, the "lover", is have also been touched by a total stranger. Places that not even her close family members touched. And that is - I assume - the point. A place where not even your parents or best friends touch you was invaded by a total stranger. Without the comparison of where others usually touch, it wouldn't be that obvious how invasive it is and just another "tell me where he touched you" image.
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It's art, so I'm fairly certain that it's going to be interpreted differently by each person's own emotions that look at it. For me, I see a lot of love with friends and family, intimacy with the boyfriends, with hurt and anger for the ones who were told no. That's what I love about art bc it doesn't have to be viewed from only the artist's perspective.
Could someone please send this to the new elected leader of our free world please. He might find his tiny fingerprints as well!!
Leader of the free world? Please, he's not my leader, you can keep him ;)
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This is a very powerful image. It's true victims of sexual assualt/ rape take years to recover. I still remember clearly and live with it everyday. The invisible marks that those disgusting hands touch when I was 10 and then again when I was 25. I have talk to several women who have been molested and raped too. It's all the same for us.
Whenever I see stuff like this, I wonder what an actual rapist thinks. I wonder if they care or if they feel shame in any way.
I have to say, that is nothing short of profound.Thank You for your vision!
After seeing the red in places and what it meant....... I was like plz no don't let this happen to me! I don't want any of this to happen!!!
Fantastic piece of inspirational artwork... so sad to see so many marks especially the RED. Would love to see her full collection.
I'm not sure how to feel about this. What two colors make purple?
I think purple is 'mom'. It looks black on the key because it's painted on thicker but if you look closely it has a purple tinge to it, and there's no other black on the image.
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What really hit me was the purple. Incredibly powerful! Brilliant work of art - not "brilliant for a 19-year-old" just brilliant.
Hmm, looking at it again, I may have misunderstood something... I thought the mom was the color black, and the purple was a mix of dad and "someone I told no." either way, still brilliant, powerful artwork
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Has anyone else noticed her twitter username, nvrgonnagetlaid??? I mean seriously?!
I'm not sure what your point is, but as a rape survivor I can understand the feeling. it took a long time before I was even a little comfortable with intimacy and it is something I still struggle with
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This is a great piece of art and at the same time, it is so sad to visualize even more what sexual assaults can do even afterwards. I have friends that have been sexually assaulted and when they told me they still live with this, even years after... I'm shocked. Even with your map, even with myself crying in front of your art, I don't even know what it feels like. Not even close. It must be so painful, physically and mentally. To all of you who have dealt with assaults, or still is dealing with it, I hope for all of you that one day, the hurting stops. Much love to you all.
It's so devastating! Telling how sexual assault can leave marks for your whole life. But I still do not understand how touching your relative's or friend's palm can be a touche (was that really romantic or erotic enough to call it a bit awkward or even an assault? We are humans, touching is a way to communicate and we shouldn't be scared of it... Now I can't stop thinking if a victim of rape or sexual assault becomes scared of a touch)
There are images of where people feel comfortable to be touched based on how well they know the person (a stranger is ok only on the hands, for example). All her body is touched since the legend signifies that she gets touched by people that are close to her (family members, lovers, friends). Private and vulnerable places such as the upper thigh, stomach have handprints. But the parts where only the orange, the "lover", is have also been touched by a total stranger. Places that not even her close family members touched. And that is - I assume - the point. A place where not even your parents or best friends touch you was invaded by a total stranger. Without the comparison of where others usually touch, it wouldn't be that obvious how invasive it is and just another "tell me where he touched you" image.
Load More Replies... It's art, so I'm fairly certain that it's going to be interpreted differently by each person's own emotions that look at it. For me, I see a lot of love with friends and family, intimacy with the boyfriends, with hurt and anger for the ones who were told no. That's what I love about art bc it doesn't have to be viewed from only the artist's perspective.
Could someone please send this to the new elected leader of our free world please. He might find his tiny fingerprints as well!!
Leader of the free world? Please, he's not my leader, you can keep him ;)
Load More Replies... This is a very powerful image. It's true victims of sexual assualt/ rape take years to recover. I still remember clearly and live with it everyday. The invisible marks that those disgusting hands touch when I was 10 and then again when I was 25. I have talk to several women who have been molested and raped too. It's all the same for us.
Whenever I see stuff like this, I wonder what an actual rapist thinks. I wonder if they care or if they feel shame in any way.
I have to say, that is nothing short of profound.Thank You for your vision!
After seeing the red in places and what it meant....... I was like plz no don't let this happen to me! I don't want any of this to happen!!!
Fantastic piece of inspirational artwork... so sad to see so many marks especially the RED. Would love to see her full collection.
I'm not sure how to feel about this. What two colors make purple?
I think purple is 'mom'. It looks black on the key because it's painted on thicker but if you look closely it has a purple tinge to it, and there's no other black on the image.
Load More Replies... What really hit me was the purple. Incredibly powerful! Brilliant work of art - not "brilliant for a 19-year-old" just brilliant.
Hmm, looking at it again, I may have misunderstood something... I thought the mom was the color black, and the purple was a mix of dad and "someone I told no." either way, still brilliant, powerful artwork
Load More Replies... Has anyone else noticed her twitter username, nvrgonnagetlaid??? I mean seriously?!
I'm not sure what your point is, but as a rape survivor I can understand the feeling. it took a long time before I was even a little comfortable with intimacy and it is something I still struggle with
Load More Replies... 
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