Marzia Bianchi's FLOR Project Uses Flowers to Address Female Genital Mutilation

Photographer Marzia Bianchi launched the FLOR (Female Liberties Oughta Rise) project days after her teenage daughter, who arrived from Somalia three and a half years ago, asked how to explain to peers and teachers the genital mutilation she suffered as a child without feeling like a spectacle. The project uses flowers as an iconic symbol of female reproduction and fertility to help her daughter understand her body and transform a traumatic scar into a personal artwork. Bianchi emphasizes avoiding a colonialist approach and instead focuses on education and awareness. The project aims to travel internationally, using flowers from around the world, especially Europe where FGM is more prevalent than perceived. A planned artist residency in Finland was canceled due to COVID-19. Bianchi notes that school closures and lockdowns have increased the number of girls at risk of FGM. The UN aims to eliminate FGM by 2030, and Bianchi hopes her project contributes to that goal.