Do Not Discard

Trash is often thrown out the window or into a garbage bin without much thought. We don’t typically think about the impact of what we throw away. Similarly, when someone challenges a sexual abuse or assault survivor’s story, they likely are not thinking about how their comments are harming the survivor. 

This 5’x6’ piece connects the ideas between objects that are thrown away and stories that are discarded. The image depicted is an illegal dump site, an area where unwanted trash is thrown into a space where trash is not meant to be. The visual piece is made entirely from trash accumulated by the three project collaborators. The goal of using this medium is to draw attention to the vast amount of trash generated by a single household; our waste is discarded and we do not often confront its excess. Phrases from interviewed survivors’ stories are written on the trash on the hillside. Their stories, like the trash, are too often discarded, forgotten, or ignored. People often pass by the trash on the road in a similar way to how they live around and with survivors: they neglect to listen, pay attention, or believe. The lines of the road are formed with responses to the interviewed survivors which imply, “I don’t believe you.” These responses are harmful, problematic, and prevent people from forming deeper relationships with and adequately caring for survivors.

The intention with this work is to raise awareness about what happens to survivors of sexual assault and abuse, to provide a space for people to sit with this content, and to encourage viewers/listeners to be informed, empathetic, and intentional when they listen and respond to survivors’ stories.

This collaborative project involves three main contributors and components: Lindsay Acker interviewed survivors and created a website with their stories and more information about the project. Nicole Litwiller created the visual artwork displayed here. Luke Mullet composed an audio experience that sets the viewer/listener in the painful, intense, and emotional space of the interviewed survivors’ stories. This piece has its own website. Please visit https://donotdiscard.wixsite.com/donotdiscard to learn more, experience the audio, and read the stories.