Statistics show that every third woman in Latvia has survived emotional, physical, economic or sexual violence at home, yet very few talk about it. During the creative process of the “Physical Evidence Museum” artists Jana Jacuka and Laura Stašāne met and listened to women, who have survived domestic violence, eventually forming a group of participants with whom they worked closely for two months. Through intense and open conversations, collective and individual tasks, grew the idea of a silent exhibition where all exhibits would be everyday objects that have witnessed the violence but would never be accepted as evidence by court or police. To collect the objects and to give as many women as possible the opportunity to tell their story in a safe environment, the authors created an online platform where anyone could submit items and share their stories for the exhibition.
The project is the part of the MagiC Carpets Year 3 Residency program at the New Theatre Institute of Latvia.
Project presented at the International Festival of Contemporary Theatre “Homo Novus” 2020 in Riga, Latvia.