Glass Ceiling

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Spray paint on raw canvas.36x40"Inspired by the voice of Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her words from the TedWomen’s stage in 2019 about how women will lead us to freedo m, justice and peace, this piece makes a bold, unapologetic statement about how representation of women in professional roles is important. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first woman president of an African nation (Liberia) and continues to be a change-maker in her community - the ripple effect of her advocating for women to be included in positions of power has been celebrated world-wide. This piece is the only one in the VOICES collection that highlights a single quote from an entire monologue, “Once the glass ceiling has been broken, it can never be put back together”, and has been communicated in large, bold, stencils on canvas in which letters from words spill from one line onto the next to encourage this sentence to be read aloud without pause. The artist includes stencil imperfections and crooked edges as a reminder that moving forward and making changes is a clumsy and imperfect process that calls for transparency and resilience. Some letters appear upside down, crooked, overlapping with others…but despite these imperfections, the message is still received loud and clear. The following quote from her speech struck the artists as particularly poignant: “I had my fair shares of criticism and toxicity. Nobody is perfect. But there's nothing more predictable than a strong woman who wants to change things, who's brave to speak out, who's bold in action…” Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s voice has reminded us all that with courage, persistence, and the dismissal of the ego, real change is possible. _____________ The VOICES (That’s What She Said) collection is a celebration of the way women have used their words and voices to empower themselves and others. Show more