Untitled (your body is a battleground)

Barbara Kruger

1989

Silkscreen depicting face of a woman looking at viewer split in half into positive and negative exposures, with English text across the image reading, "Your body is a battleground."
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When this poster was created, access to abortion was under threat by growing opposition to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. Krueger created this work in response to those threats. It was showcased during the Women’s March of 1989, which mobilized American women to protest for their rights. Posters such as these were created to empower and express the political efficacy of this overlooked group in politics. The juxtaposition of one visible face and the other blurred symbolizes the stark contrast of the society in which we currently live versus life without rights, creating a hopeless and dystopian reality for American women. 

Creator Bio

Barbara Kruger

b. 1945

American conceptual artist, designer, and writer Barbara Kruger, born in Newark, New Jersey, made her reputation creating artworks that often combine provocative and feminist text with black and white photography. Her work has been displayed in both galleries and public spaces, as well as on posters, T-shirts, electronic signboards, billboards, and flyers. She has had solo exhibitions in the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Kruger received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale (2005).

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