United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
20.09.22-29.09.22
Exactly three and a half years ago, at the end of a She’s gone visit to a local high school in Geneva, Adi and I stood in front of the UN building and said: one day our installation will come here.
Finally, it did.
Thanks to the determination and initiative of the Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN, Ms. Adi Farjon, and the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Mrs. Meirav Eilon-Shahar in an impressive and unusual cooperation with the Greek ambassador to the UN Mr. Panayotis Strournaras and the Cypriot ambassador to the UN Ms. Olympia Neocleous.
We were privileged and honoured to present the issue of gender-based violence on the agenda on a global scale in conjunction with the 51st Human Rights Council meeting.
The clothes were hung up again, and the names and personal stories were told. Stories of pain, loss and grief that remind us that there were once a woman in these clothes and she had full and meaningful life, filled with hopes and dreams.
The installation claimed excited reactions from everyone who was exposed to it, including the president of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Mr. Federico Villegas Beltrán, who invited us to his homeland, Argentina.
While we were hanging the clothes, a girl who was born in Iran approached us. She said that she left her home country not long ago, but her heart is still with her female sisters, who are left behind, exposed to harassment, violence and threats.
She said: I have a connection to the family of Mahsa Amini, the girl who was murdered in prison because of the hijab, maybe I can get her clothes for you.
In this emotional sad moment, the borders, the differences of opinion, the gaps disappeared. There was only one miserable girl who lost her life because of a part of her clothing, and ignited fire and courage in the hearts of other women.
A new generation is born, and the revolution will come.
Thank you all for the opportunity to touch hearts, and encourage people to action: stop domestic violence and violence against women.
We would like to thank:
The Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN in Geneva:
Israeli Deputy Permanent Representative - Ms. Adi Farjon
Israeli ambassador to the UN - Mrs. Meirav Eilon-Shahar
Head of Public Diplomacy - Mr. Nathan Chicheportiche
The Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the UN in Geneva
The Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN in Geneva
for making this important visit possible.
Opening Event Speakers
Ms. Keren Yehezkeli Goldstein
Creator of She’s gone
H.E Ms. Meirav Eilon Shahar - Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Office at Geneva
H.E Mr. Panayotis Stournaras - Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations Office at Geneva
H.E Ms. Olympia Neocleous - Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Cyprust o the United Nations Office at Geneva
Press
Gallery
Keren Goldstein’s Speech
I would like to thank Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar, Deputy Representative Adi Farjon, - who accompanied us and organized this exhibition; Counselor Nitzan Army, Nathan Chicheportiche and the members of the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations; Ambassador Panayotis Stournaras Representative of Greece to the UN; Olympia Neocleous, Representative of Cyprus to the UN.
The “She’s Gone" project was conceived out of feelings of despair and rage. The fury I felt when I heard of yet another murder of a young woman, alongside her two young sons. She was 23 years old. I expected that the murder would go through the news cycle for the next few days, and that soon after, invariably, the crime and its victims would be forgotten.
This was a turning point in my life.
An idea came to me: create a shocking and provocative image that would unsettle people, that would keep the crisis of domestic violence on the agenda, every day, all the time; an image that would motivate people to act in order to prevent the next tragedy.
I decided to embark on a journey across Israel to collect pieces of clothing belonging to women and girls, victims of deadly domestic violence. It was such a painful journey.
I chose clothes because our clothing tell an intimate yet a powerful story about us.
Inside this garment there once was a woman. It contains the movements of her body, her silhouette reflected in the mirror of her bedroom, it carries the memories of her being, holds the scent of her body, conveys her fashion style.
The garment captures the way she chose to go out into the world, it reminds us who she was, and that she is no more, gone. This installation displays original victims’ clothes from Israel, the USA, Greece, and Cyprus - countries where we held public events that reverberated around communities.
Through the silent, abandoned garment that hovers like a ghost, the installation is an outcry against the global crisis of gender-murder by intimate partners or other family members.
These clothes are a silent testament to meaningful and passionate lives, teeming with hopes and dreams that were abruptly and violently cut short. The clothes hide within their folds stories of absence, grief and orphanhood.
Anat, Dua, Malkam and Ganit, Elani and Katrina are just a few of the many other women and girls, from diverse religions, nationalities and backgrounds, who have all met the same cruel and tragic fate.
Femicide does not happen in a void.
Underlying it are jealousy and possessiveness, obsession and violence, all aiming to control a woman and treat her as an object, a property. This gender terrorism manifests in various, sometimes insidious ways.
Recently, our installation has become a global project. We have already visited Switzerland, Austria, Greece, Cyprus and Washington DC, hoping to touch hearts and inspire action.
Wherever we visit, we look for potential local partners to hold joint events and workshops. We invite relatives of victims to entrust us with clothes of their beloved ones and create an international display, a call in solidarity for immediate action.
We hope to take this exhibition far and wide around the globe, to raise awareness and break the taboo around gender-based violence. In November, we will visit Aruba, marking the beginning of collaboration with refugee support organization HIAS, who have been doing groundbreaking work in this field. From there we will go to New Delhi, by invitation of the Israeli Embassy and the UN
She's gone is collaborating closely with Mihal Sela Forum, an innovative Israel organization combating domestic violence through technological solutions. The forum works with leaders in different countries, to create and adopt solutions locally. Please take a moment ..to scan the barcode on the poster over there and learn more about it
On this honorable stage, I would like to say - domestic violence is a serious and deadly epidemic. It is the source of tragedies and heartbreaks.
These clothes represent an extreme phenomenon, but domestic violence is also, sadly, a very common phenomenon.
We must make every effort to heal the family unit in which boys and girls grow up. These children become parents themselves one day, carrying with them unbearably traumatic burden.
We must ensure future generations lives of compassion, generosity and love.
This project was born out of a heart-to-heart connection with friends and family members who gathered around me with dedication and love all along the way.
I owe this moving moment to my two talented and beloved partners, Adi Levy and Adi Nachman, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
Thanks to my late husband who left me prematurely, for his partnership and support.
May decisive and determined action emerge from this place.
Thank you.