Artefact details: "Duality Brooches", Silver, gilt, steel pin, 1.6" x 1.4" x .3", 2024

The brooches were designed for the In Focus exhibition, to raise the issue of safety for the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically themes of transphobia.

The ‘duality’ brooches advocate for community building in spite of social and cultural challenges. Karen's handwritten messages ‘am I safe?’ and ‘are they safe?’ externalize concerns over their and their partner’s emotional and physical wellbeing. By asking these generalized questions, Karen hopes to nurture compassion. There is a hidden message on the reverse of my ‘am I safe?’ brooch: a reminder to listen to and let the kindness of others in.
The brooches are designed so others can relate to the brooches from their own perspectives: to open up conversations around the universal desire to feel safe.