No Silence - By Karen Wiseman

Karen Wiseman's No Silence is a deeply personal work created in response to abuse, injustice, and the failure of systems and individuals entrusted to protect vulnerable people. Completed between 2018 and 2019, the original work has remained in the artist's personal collection since its creation. It has been publicly exhibited once and was also featured on the Australian arts television program Color In Your Life.

The work reflects Wiseman's intuitive approach to painting, where emotion and experience can shape the image as much as deliberate composition. Rather than beginning with a fixed visual plan, the painting developed as a physical and emotional response to injustice. Paint was thrown onto the surface, allowing movement, chance and intensity to become part of the work.

At the center of the work are a number of symbols connected to its subject. A priest-like figure references the church and the responsibility of institutions to protect. Torn pieces of Bible verse appear around the collar, referring to teachings concerning the protection of children. An adult and child figure further introduce the relationship between vulnerability, trust and those who have been failed by systems intended to support them.The eye is another important element within the work. Wiseman describes it as looking outward through what appears to be fractured glass. For her, the eye reflects the way difficult experiences can alter the way a person sees themselves and the world around them. It also carries the pain she has recognized in the faces of people affected by abuse.

The key placed across the mouth is central to the meaning of No Silence. Wiseman sees the key as representing the ability to unlock silence. People who experience abuse can be silenced by fear, shame, threats or the belief that speaking will have consequences. In the painting, however, the person who has been silenced also holds the key. The symbol becomes a statement about having the ability to speak and about reclaiming a voice.

The locked heart carries a related meaning. It represents people whose capacity for compassion and responsibility has become closed off, particularly those who have failed vulnerable people. The surrounding imagery of the church and the steeple reinforces the institutional context of the work.

For Wiseman, No Silence is part of a wider concern with injustice, human dignity and creating space for people to be heard. Her work has extended beyond the studio into community arts and cultural projects, where she has used art as a way to encourage connection, participation and healing.

The painting is not intended to offer an easy or comfortable subject. Instead, it records the artist's refusal to remain silent in the face of injustice. Through its imagery, text and intuitive use of paint, No Silence stands alongside those whose voices have been silenced and affirms the importance of being heard.

As Wiseman describes it, the key represents the possibility of unlocking what has been hidden. The work ultimately moves from silence towards voice, making the painting not only a response to injustice, but also the artist's own act of speaking out.

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