Verde Valley News – You may not notice them at first. Pieces of paper, blue and white, wadded into balls. Lingering in the corners and shadows of YC’s Faculty Art Show. They are easy to ignore individually. But together they appear to belong and may even be overlooked. In the back of the Prescott Campus Art Gallery, a stark image awaits.
“It’s an arrestingly large handprint, the universal signal for ‘Stop,’ in International Klein Blue,” sculptor Rita Toikka says. What happens next depends upon the viewer, will they stop and lend a hand? “Blue is the international color for human trafficking awareness.” Toikka’s compelling and inventive installation will introduce audiences to the urgent and overlooked issue of human trafficking.
At any given time, human trafficking – the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain labor or sex – afflicts an estimated 27.6 million people worldwide. Cases of brokers, strangers and even family members coercing people into forced labor as sex workers, factory or agricultural workers, domestic servants, hospitality or janitorial staff have sprung up across the United States. The underground nature of the crime makes it difficult to quantify. But since its inception in 2007 – The National Human Trafficking Hotline has received 5,196 signals, identified 1,611 cases and 3,906 victims of human trafficking in Arizona alone.
“Worldwide an estimated 150 billion dollars a year is made off human trafficking,” Toikka says. “That’s second [in revenue] only to drug-trafficking.” A professional artist and 2nd-year instructor of Welded Metal Sculpture at YC, Toikka researched human trafficking in her studies at ASU and found it to be overwhelming in scope. “I don’t claim to be an expert, but I understand the need to spread awareness. This is something I can do.” Traffickers prey on vulnerable populations lacking social safety nets – children, women, immigrants and U.S citizens alike, those living in poverty, or struggling with addiction. It can be difficult to spot, but it often hides in plain sight. It can be right next door, your favorite restaurant, or that exclusive resort you love to visit.
Toikka’s installation, #Endtrafficking, is an interactive work that sheds light on a crime that thrives “on the exploitation of others, the lack of public awareness, and the difficulty of identifying victims. I’ve done interactive pieces before and found them fascinating,” she says. Because it requires more than passive viewing, interactive art draws a distinctive response. “Yves Klein, who patented the blue color I’m using, was part of an art movement called ‘Zero,’ which only lasted about ten years, but often their works required audience participation. His iconic photograph with his blue, outstretched hand was the seed of inspiration for this work.”
Patrons who venture toward Toikka’s giant blue hand will learn more about trafficking, including signs to look for, ways to report suspicious activity and offer help. The viewer is asked to perform a short, symbolic act in the hope it may inspire additional acts in the future. “I wanted this [piece] to be simple, so people could just grab onto it. If it’s just a painting or a video, it’s easy to just walk by and say, ‘Oh, how terrible.’ The most important aspect of this is they are now aware, and they’ve already taken that first step.”
Most of the people that reach out to the National Hotline for help learned of it through word of mouth so Toikka hopes #EndTrafficking will raise public awareness enough to reach those in our community that need help or want to help. “Creating this installation has been enlightening. Sometimes art can feel very selfish or lonely. Visual art can be such an effective and universal way to communicate, so I thought I should do some work that may raise awareness and could inspire social change.” The gallery will be selling enamel pins with the iconic handprint and informational handouts will be available. Profits from pin sales will be donated anonymously to www.TheLaunchPadTeenCenter.org in Prescott.
For more information visit: Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network www.aatn.org and www.PolarisProject.org
For 24/7 Confidential help:
- Visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org
- Text “HELP” or “BEFREE” to 233733
- Call 1-888-373-7888
- TTY: 711
#EndTrafficking is part of The 2024 Yavapai College Art Faculty Exhibition, running August 2 through September 6 at YC’s Prescott Campus Art Gallery, inside the Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center. The gallery is open 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free. Opening Reception is August 23, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. For more information, call: (928) 776-2031.
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