In a way that synthesizes all aspects of my MFA thesis, “tailspin” can also stand alone as a commentary on what we are willing to share with each other, online, anonymously. I chose the color pink for the obvious reason: in all its “girly,” “feminine” symbolism. What does it mean to stand inside of a pink space while confessing pain on a native social media post? What is the significance of, very briefly, existing in a dichotomy of what feels like feminine innocence while expressing the pain you may have felt as a woman, or someone who knows a woman?

By transitioning the digital aspects of this project into an analog space, it was important to me to preserve the nativeness of the social media posts. Since this movement spread like wildfire across various digital platforms, I wanted to mimic that environment while maintaining the participant’s ability to share whatever they choose. And, in the end, these posts will be archived online (on jacquelines-thesis.com) in order to allow those who weren’t able to attend the exhibit to look back on the posts and, maybe, see themselves in the stories that were shared.

This project was named “tailspin” in an attempt to pin-down what so many victims of sexual assault have endured as a result of their pain; a freefall with no ending, always being whipped in circles by your past, going headfirst, into an unknown reception of something that was never, ever your fault.