Shannon O'Brien

Project Statement

Panty Ladder is a documentation of a performance and a process of healing. Presented as both sculpture and video, Panty Ladder is a narration of a personal experience of mine, except it’s my own creation of this story, one that ends with a feeling of self liberation and empowerment. This ladder was built out of rage, pain, resentment, hope, and a desire for healing. This piece touches upon themes such as sexual trauma, femininity, and the act of healing as I escape from my own experiences with being a woman in today's society. Acting as both an act of liberation and a visual representation of the exhausting nature of living with trauma after the initial imprint of the event, Panty Ladder consists of a performance documentation presented by a monitor situated next to the fire escape ladder - wrapped in multiple fabrics from female undergarments. Alluding to a physical site of trauma for myself, each panty, some of which were mine and others were purchased in my size, were torn, wrapped, and tied by hand around the fire escape ladder. As I repeatedly climb down the ladder from the window of a domestic house, I am claiming back ownership of my body and stepping on my own resented idea of femininity.

MFA in Visual Studies