#ModernSlavery - An Exhibition by Halinka T

About

'It is by standing up for the rights of girls and women that we truly measure up as men' – Desmond Tutu.

Abuse is a strong word, but not as strong as the word 'Survivor'.

Brighton based artist Halinka T joins the growing uproar of distinguished voices raising awareness of abuse against women and children around the world. In her September exhibition '#ModenSlavery' at the Naked Eye Gallery, she examines our history of child grooming, domestic violence, rape, human trafficking, sexual slavery, kidnapping and rape as a war strategy. She hopes the exhibition celebrates how far we have come while acknowledging the journey is not yet over, urging us to continue building on the foundations that have led many to a new understanding and some to safety.

In the #ModernSlavery exhibition, Halinka will showcase 12 large sculptures of heads reflecting horrific acts of society that need to be addressed urgently. They depict impoverished mothers, slavery and the denial of women’s potential. These ironically serene sculptures remain strong and powerful and offer the viewer hope in the face of adversity.

Halinka has worked in the male dominated worlds of stone carving, metal work and mechanics to create sculpture and kinetic art, and feels she would not have been able to create her work without the help of her male colleagues who gave her the skills to use road drills and compressed air tools. In Halinka's words: 'Thank you for lending me your welding gear'.

Halinka is an adventurer and has travelled around the world, and lived in Bolivia for 12 years where she worked closely with the indigenous people fighting for equality. She saw that in many cultures woman are poorly treated and their lives are restricted to marriage and often violence. She has frequently put herself in threatening situations in order to protect women. Halinka remains deeply concerned that the fight for equality has not progressed enough and in many ways has even regressed.

Halinka studied sculpture at Edinburgh school of art and was head hunted to do an MA at the Robert School of Art in Aberdeen where she worked with the Off-shore Engineering Department, Robert Gordon University. Since that time she has had pieces of work in the Royal Scottish Academy, the Science Festival, UK and later Fabrica in Brighton.

The #ModernSlavery exhibition will be on at the Naked Eye Gallery, 5 Farm Mews, Farm Road, Hove, BN3 1GH from 3rd - 14th September.

This event will be a fund raiser for charity.

One of the heads will be raffled at the end of the event.