Samantha Olschan

The image references a modern-day David and Goliath. The young girl is not directly identifiable allowing the viewer to project themselves into her/her space. Since its creation, the United States Supreme Court has overturned Roe vs. Wade, its 1973 ruling which recognized that the right to liberty in the Constitution, which protects personal privacy, includes the right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy. This overturning disproportionately impacts women of color in the U.S., as they are more likely to face underlying social and economic inequities.

The image, a 29in x 22in digital print on glass, references a modern-day David and Goliath as told through a young woman and the government/U.S. Supreme Court. The young girl is not directly identifiable allowing the viewer to project themselves into her/her space. The viewer indirectly comes to the image with preconceived bias about who she is and what she is doing.

The image has been captured using digital video and photography and then edited using computer software to enhance the narrative. The Supreme Court Building of the United States, often referred to as "The Marble Palace", serves as the official workplace of the chief justice of the United States and the eight associate justices of the Supreme Court and is both a site for political protest and tourist destination in America. All evidence of life, outside of the young female subject, has been digitally removed or erased from the frame. Tourists, police officers, signage, and the subject's hand have been removed from the original image to allow the viewer to concentrate on the relationship between the young women and what was happening inside this building. Her hands are removed to indicate helplessness, her shadow is elongated and enhanced to represent time, age, strength, and staying power. The building itself is skewed dramatically to the right of the frame, whereas the subject occupies the center and left- to mimic political leanings. The temperature of the image was adjusted and enhanced and any indication of softness was removed in the sky through the removal of clouds, leaving only radial striations.