Petra Mars

WOMAN

Mars champions freedom for every human being through her work. Everyone is equal. Men are not superior to women, nor are women superior to men. Each individual's freedom ends where another's freedom begins. So yes, there are limits to freedom.

In this work, Mars shows the side of women in a material typically labelled masculine: the tie. By using the masculine symbol for femininity, Mars aims to level the playing field. Mars uses a great deal of symbolism in her work. The choice of colour and material is significant. The images are deliberately chosen to tell the story of women: the open beak of the phoenix—the right to speak. The image of the crane and pelican on the breasts—the altruism of motherhood. The golden egg with a 24-week-old fetus—from that point on, a baby is viable outside the womb, but abortion is permitted up to those 24 weeks.

The texts in the work refer to the French Revolution. Mars adapted them to Liberté, Responsabilité, and Humanité; freedom, responsibility, and humanity. This, Mars says, better captures how we as humanity should treat each other.

The back, perhaps even the front (?), of the work is an indictment of society. Mars embroidered the abuses against women in red thread. By doing this with quick stitches and a written style, a sense of urgency is visible. Every woman and girl will be able to recognise something in this work; where abuses have not yet been addressed, the empty spaces provide space for them.

Given her background as an entrepreneur in sewing machines and fabrics, the choice of material is obvious. Mars says that fabrics are soft, pliable, and fragile, yet capable of telling a hard-hitting story. This is a metaphor for this work; the soft, vulnerable side of women versus the harsh reality.