The Story:
Our Founders
NI EN MORE was born from the art and activism that brought our two co-founders, Janette Terrazas and Lise Bjorne Linnert’s, together in
2016.
Both Jane (Ciudad Juárez, México) and Lise (Oslo, Norway) use their art practices to raise awareness of the systemic violence and femicides that have been witnessed against women in Ciudad Juárez for the last 30 years.
TEXTILE MAPPING OF FEMICIDE (2016 - ONGOING)
By: Janette Terrazas Islas
“For the past 10 years I have dedicated my work in textile art to reflect on the textile object as a social metaphor with a cross-border gender perspective.” - Jane
A History of Femicides
Ciudad Juárez has a long history of femicides statistically registered. It is important to be aware that such violence is reinforced by the culture and social norms that perpetuate systematic oppression towards women, special women of color, speaking from my geopolitical context, these femicides are related to public space, gore capitalism and violence in public space.
There are several factors that reinforce violence and insecurity: such as abandonment of public space, lack of credibility in government instances, human trafficking and sexual slavery, as well as the lack of respect for women's human rights and compliance with the laws that defend these rights.
The Textile Mapping of Femicides
The Textile Mapping of Femicides is an art initiative consisting of electronic maps that records, year after year, the number of women killed in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, in order to reflect on the factors that indicate the increase or decrease of violence towards the woman. Through electronic textile workshops we are invited to take action, to observe and interact with the indices of the current 10 years over femicide issues registered from 2014-2024. In this way we could take a position in the framework of political participation.
The most recent map is from 2017 and is an interactive piece, inviting and involving the community to install the textile LEDs at each location where the body of a woman, victim of femicide, was found.
This project is carried out in conjunction with the feminist activist Ivonne Ramirez who started a digital mapping of spot locators, in which the number of femicides per year from 1985 to date are counted. The mapping also specifies the sites where the women's bodies have been found and the conditions of the murder, age, among other specifications.
DESCONOCIDA UNKNOWN UKJENT (2006 - ONGOING)
By: Lise Bjørne Linnert
“I heard about the situation in Cd. Juárez for the first time in 2000 when I was living in Houston, Texas. At the end of
2005, the Station Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston, a museum committed to a political and social agenda, invited me to participate in
an exhibition dedicated to the women in Ciudad Juárez.”
— LISE
“Desconocida Unknown Ukjent”
“Desconocida Unknown Ukjent” is an international mass collaboration, embroidering nametags to protest the continuing murders of women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and in remembrance of similar crimes worldwide.
Spread Awareness
At the time, I was living in Norway again and my immediate thought was to use the physical distance as a starting point for the work. I wanted to find a way to spread awareness about the horror happening in Cd. Juárez, and simultaneously enable a feeling of connection. In essence, abuse and murder of women are about us. It is something that has happened and continues to happen in every global society. Embroidering someone's name establishes a connection. The project is democratic and open for all. The essence is the time each participant gives.
By September 2019, more than 5500 people have embroidered 8500 labels in countries such as Australia, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Mexico, Pakistan, Palestinian territory, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK, USA and in all corners of Norway. More than 600 workshops have been arranged.
Memorize Victims
Each participant embroiders two labels; one with the name a murdered woman in Cd. Juárez; the other with unknown in their own language to memorize victims of similar crimes globally.
During the 13 years of working with Desconocida, I have stayed in close contact with activists and organizations in Juarez. In 2016, in a visit to Juarez arranging workshops with activists and victim’s families, I met Jane. In a café, the last day before returning back to Oslo, I asked Jane, if we, in addition to our individual art projects raising awareness, could use our engagements, different knowledges and contacts to form a project together that would generate opportunities for women living in the most risk. We planted the first seed for NI EN MORE.
NI EN MORE, NOT ONE MORE abused or murdered woman, not in Cd. Juárez and not anywhere else.