GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It's the first weekend of ArtPrize 2.0 in Grand Rapids and FOX 17 caught up with another artist Saturday to learn about their entry.
Caroline Bell is the artist behind "Stripped Autonomous Rights," a multimedia installation piece on display at Harmony Brewing Company.
She says it's meant to be much more than something interesting to look at and was inspired by a major Supreme Court decision.
"I wanted this piece to not only pay homage to those who have been affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, is being affected and will be affected," Bell explained.
She says she used a hunting knife to carve the shape out of memory foam and hung the finished product with a meat hook.
"I wanted to make visual commentary on how when we're stripped from autonomy and our right to our own bodies, we essentially become...livestock and aren't really seen as, like, a functioning human in society and become this element to only be consumed in order to have rights," she added.
Most importantly, she hopes it inspires compassion in those who view it.
"If this piece is able to help, like, communicate a sense of empathy and being able to understand what this piece is about more, I think it'll be a successful piece," Bell said. "You know, it's able to help others understand and get to know concepts that they don't know much about or want to understand better."
ArtPrize started Thursday and runs through October 1.
