Patricia Cronin. Shrine For Girls, Venice

Shrine For Girls is a series of site-specific sculptural installations created by artist Patricia Cronin (Beverly, Massachussetts, 1963), reflecting on the global plight of exploited women and girls.
The installation is located at the Chiesa di San Gallo, a historic-site destination near the heart of Venetian culture and society, Piazza San Marco.
Although the United Nations passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, women and girls around the world continue to be among the most vulnerable members of our global society. Often facing violence, repression, and enforced ignorance, this young female populace is subjected to a horrifying existence on earth.
Inside the Church of San Gallo, Patricia Cronin has created a shrine in their honor.
In this exhibition, dramatically illuminated mounds of their clothing are elevated to the status of art to bring awareness to this urgent crisis, while providing a space to reflect and, hopefully, inspire viewers into action. One framed photograph of each of these three tragic events will accompany this installation, which hopes to propose a new and reflective dialogue between gender, memory and justice.