A Brand New End: Survival and Its Pictures

Carmen Winant

April 15 — July 16, 2022

A Brand New End: Survival and Its Pictures is a photography-based exhibition of new work by Carmen Winant as part of a five-component project developed by the artist through intensive research — a hallmark of her category-defying practice. A Brand New End explores historical and contemporary representations of oppression, liberation and self-expression through materials drawn from and inspired by the archives of Women In Transition (WIT) and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). This multipart project aims to illuminate the often invisible experiences of women, as well as feminist strategies for survival, revolt and self-determination. It highlights the power of print (photography and printmaking) to depict how women view themselves, and how photography can serve as a tool in the struggle for individual autonomy and self-representation. Through its expansive consideration of image making, domestic violence and the larger feminist movement deploying the archives of WIT and NCADV, A Brand New End critically examines the problems and possibilities of visualizing domestic violence and subsequent survival. 

The exhibition has been organized by Ksenia Nouril, PhD, The Print Center’s Jensen Bryan Curator. A Brand New End: Survival and Its Pictures has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

Content warning: please be advised that this exhibition contains adult content, including depictions and descriptions of domestic violence.

This project – which is collaborative and genre-bending – is a decidedly feminist undertaking. My work always has been a continuation of and a channel for my feminist politics and my interest in second wave feminist history. My work is more of a reckoning than a report; it allows me to reach backwards and attempt to make sense of the space between lives and movements. I’m interested in how photographs serve us as we confront domestic violence (tellingly called ‘wife abuse’ or ‘battered women syndrome’ in previous decades). What and who is pictured in telling this story, and how? This project utilizes many different forms of pictures in service of making domestic violence survivors and their advocates visible, as well as contending with how we see (in the most literal way possible) and value them and their experiences in our culture at large. Domestic violence is an outgrowth and a symptom of the patriarchy that hurts all people inside of it.

– Carmen Winant

Programs

All programs that were recorded are available to watch here.

Public Interventions

A public intervention in bus shelters around the City of Philadelphia, concurrent with the exhibition in our galleries, brings the space between Winant’s art and the information shared by organizations like WIT and NCADV even closer together. Modeled after public service announcements, the artist-designed posters feature Winant’s restaged photographs of t-shirts from WIT’s participation in the Clothesline Project. These posters are intended to raise awareness of issues around domestic violence, relay information to people about services and support, and according to Winant, “give voice to the archive from survivors.”

View a map of the bus shelter locations here.

A Brand New End is documented in a short film by Philadelphia-based production company Itinerant Pictures. Recorded in Philadelphia, at WIT, The Print Center and at the artist’s studio in Columbus, OH, the short film captures Winant’s process and the execution of the project. 

Text contributions by: Laia Abril, Irene L. Brantley, Donna Ferrato, Ruth M. Glenn, Suzanne Lacy, Ksenia Nouril, Catherine Opie, Sangi Ravichandran, Elias Rodriques, Drew Sawyer, Paige L. Sweet and Carmen Winant.

Hardcover book with swiss binding and foil blocking, 8 1/2" x 11", 256 pages, 400 illustrations, edition of 1,000, designed by Common Name, published October 2022 by The Print Center.

Purchase a copy

About Women In Transition (WIT)

Founded in 1971, Philadelphia-based WIT’s mission is to empower people to move forward in their lives free of domestic violence and substance abuse.

helpwomen.org

About the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)

Founded in 1978, Denver-based NCADV’s mission is to lead, mobilize and raise their voices to support efforts that demand a change of conditions that lead to domestic violence such as patriarchy, privilege, racism, sexism, and classism. They are dedicated to supporting survivors and holding offenders accountable and supporting advocates.

ncadv.org

A Brand New End: Survival and Its Pictures has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage