There is a memorial in Los Angeles to the women who were forcefully sterilized in the 1960s

An extraordinary artistic project has taken place in the courtyard of the Los Angeles medical center at a time when the right to dispose of one’s body is highly debated in the United States.

Before the law allowing this practice was removed in 1979, California sterilized more than 20,000 women against their will. And it wasn’t until August 2021 that the state finally realized the tragedy of this strategy, which claimed to combat poverty. Black and Latina women have been the main targets of sterilization for many years. Racism was combined with sexism. A young woman would frequently only need to be told that she was “of small virtue” for surgery to take place.

The metal bears engravings of the Virgin of Guadalupe’s hands, foliage, and roses. The artwork Sobrevivir (Survival) by Phung Huynh

Artist Phung Huynh wants to honor the many victims with a piece that was unveiled this summer. Survive is the name of the nearly three-ton art project. It is composed of 21 steel panels that come together to form a disc that is 6.5 meters in diameter. An engraving on the disc depicts the Virgin of Guadalupe’s hands (the Virgin who would have appeared to a native in 1531). The decor, which was influenced by the designs of Mexican huipil clothing, is finished off with leaves and roses. The building was put in position in the LAC + USC Hospital courtyard, where thousands of these sterilizations took place.

According to Phung Huynh, the sculpture has lighting installed underneath it that illuminates a kind of “community poem.” There are books to read “I’m very depressed inside,” “The song is over,” or “If you speak English, people treat you differently.” They behave differently towards you if you don’t speak English.”

“I’m so depressed inside,” The artwork Sobrevivir (Survival) by Phung Huynh

This sculpture also honors the fortitude of the ten Latin American working-class women who brought a class-action lawsuit against the hospital. At the time, they had provided testimony regarding the tricks employed by medical staff to get consent forms for sterilization. The Madrigal v. Quilligan case served as a foundation for the laws governing safe maternal care and safeguards defending women’s rights in the United States.

Four quilts with encouraging messages and uplifting imagery were created by mothers, activists, and women who gave birth in the hospital and are also on exhibit within the hospital. According to Jorge Orozco, CEO of LAC+USC, “supporting the development of an equitable health care system in LA has never been more critical and that involves coming to terms with our past.”

Phung Huynh, 44, is an artist-in-residence at the Los Angeles County Office of Immigrant Affairs and an associate professor of art at Los Angeles College. She created a piece in March in honor of the Cambodian immigrants known as “Khmericans” who have endured the effects of war and genocide. She is used to drawing attention to the “invisible,” for example.

By Editor

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