An investigation by the Italian artist into obstetric violence, drawing on her family history.
19-10-1980 / 17-4-1981. A date of birth and a date of death, six months apart. Valeria Chierchi grew up seeing her own name engraved on a tombstone: the namesake was her older sister, who died after being declared healthy at birth. She weighed 3,350 gr. 3,350 gr. Photographs and Letters on Obstetric Violence arises out of this personal story to investigare obstetric violence as a widespread, yet often unacknowledged, form of abuse. Moving between image, archive material and letters, Cherchi constructs a polyphonic narrative that brings together the myriad voices of the characters involved, opening up a space in which previously silenced experiences can finally be heard.
Valeria Cherchi (born 1986 in Sassari, Italy) is a visual artist, photographer and independent educator. Her non-linear practice focuses on the meaning of the 'unspoken', with a particular interest in using images and words to shed light on little known stories about lack of social justice. By weaving together her photography, journal of on-site research, archival material and official narratives, Cherchi creates multivocal chronicles that exposes the contradictions of certain social and political phenomenons before their removal from historical consciousness.
