Intimate Transgressions is an exhibition in which over thirty artists from around the world respond to the challenging theme of sexual violence as a tactic of terror. The exhibition is presented by the Centre for Asian Pacific Affairs (CAPA) and hosted by Inter Art Gallery Beijing. The artworks on display respond to the transnational issue of violence against women during times of conflict from both a historical and contemporary perspective.

The inspiration and starting point for this visual arts project is the disturbing situation of the ‘Comfort Women’ during and after WW2. As we have approached the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2 in 2015 it is important to address the place these comfort women occupy in the ongoing narrative of violence towards women all over the world.
The women principally from Korea, China, the Philippines, Taiwan and other countries occupied by the Japanese, were abducted, forced into sexual slavery and treated with such extreme brutality, that most did not survive the war. Following the end of hostilities their plight was sidelined, no one was held accountable for their sufferings and their story was wiped from Japanese history books by those in power.

70 years on; organised war rape and genocide rape are now standard practise in many armed conflicts and women on every continent are affected. We wish to highlight this appalling abuse of human rights by presenting an exhibition where artists from all over the world explore the complex legacy bequeathed to our society by these destructive phenomena. While the exhibition will investigate individual and collective accountability, it will not be a documentary of horrors, rather it will speak of loss and resilience, of sorrow and our shared humanity; its purpose is to bring insight and perspective.

It was very important for us, that the artists who accepted our invitation to participate should come from every continent, work in a wide range of media and be both female and male. We wanted this exhibition to have a universal voice, relevance and visual appeal.

We believe that the transformation of atrocity into provocative and thoughtful art is a meaningful way to bear witness, to confront hard evidence and to give an unflinching response.
Fion Gunn & Niamh Cunningham

Andi Arnovitz Israel 以色列
Francesca Arri Italy 意大利
Chen Meitsen 陈美岑 Taiwan/France 台湾/法国
Niamh Cunningham 瑞莲 Ireland/China 爱尔兰/中国
Rita Duffy Northern Ireland 北爱尔兰
Regina José Galindo Guatemala 危地马拉
Gao Yuan 高媛 Taiwan/US 美国/台湾
Anita Glesta Australia/USA 澳大利亚/美国
Fion Gunn 飞扬 Ireland/UK 爱尔兰/英国
Gauri Gurjinder India/China 印度/中国
Heidi Hatry Germany 德国
Huang Zhiqiong 黄志琼 China 中国
Denise Keele –Bedford Australia/China 澳大利亚/中国
Lei Yan 雷燕 China 中国
Li Zhen 李镇 China 中国
Michael Lisle-Taylor UK 英国
Monika Lin USA/China 美国/中国
Ma Yanling 马嬿泠 China 中国
Phoebe Man 文晶莹 Hong Kong 香港
Meng Liping 孟麗萍 China 中国
Atsuko Nakamura 中村敦子 Japan 日本
Pan Yiqun 潘毅群 China 中国
Sul Park Korea 韩国
Qing Qing 庆庆? China 中国
Gail Ritchie Northern Ireland 北爱尔兰
Alessando Rolandi Italy/China 意大利/中国
Shao Kang 邵康 China 中国
Xin Song 宋昕 China 中国
Bharat Singh India/China 印度/中国
David Turner Northern Ireland 北爱尔兰
Wang Ning 王宁 China 中国
Tami Xiang 向承美 China/Australia 中国/澳大利亚
Zhang Fen 张峰 China 中国
Zhang Xin 张欣 China 中国