Clara Scherrer's 'Effraction' Confronts Female Genital Mutilation

Clara Scherrer, born in 1972 and based in southern France, works across painting, photography, collage, video, performance, and installation. Her artistic influences include Rauschenberg, Pollock, Basquiat, Annette Messager, Louise Bourgeois, Pina Bausch, Maurice Ravel, and Elia Kazan. A key aspect of her work is addressing human condition issues, as seen in 'Beslan nuit' (2004) about the North Ossetia hostage crisis and 'H2O mon amour' about water pollution. Her installation 'Effraction' (2012), presented at the Rue des Arts festival in Carla Bayle, Ariège, uses suspended white garments—overalls, slips, girls' dresses, corsets—with black threads hanging from scar-like cuts. A video shows Scherrer cutting her white dress with scissors while an older woman sews, overlaid with statistics: '6,000 girls excised daily worldwide... one girl mutilated every four minutes.' The work metaphorically addresses excision and infibulation, referencing Claude Lévêque, Christian Boltanski, and Annette Messager. Scherrer's non-militant approach creates a peaceful atmosphere that contrasts with the violent subject, engaging viewers without explicit activism. The piece aligns with UN efforts against female genital mutilation, citing UNICEF's 2005 report. Eliane Burnet, author of 'Pour décoder un tableau religieux' and philosophy professor, wrote the article.