Shadreck Chikoti
“I absolutely stopped painting because of Epstein,” Farmer said. “And in a weird way, I kind of started painting because of him because I wanted to honor the victims- Maria Farmer
You are a young woman gifted with the art of drawing and painting. From an early age, your life has been devoted to refining this talent, working with pencil, charcoal, and paint, translating thought and emotion onto canvas. When your parents recognized your passion for fine art, they encouraged you to pursue formal training. They sent you to study art, where you learned technique, discipline, and artistic philosophy. You completed your university education, and now your heart is full of anticipation as you step into the world, ready to meet it face to face and share your work.
Because you deeply believe in women’s freedom, dignity, and strength, your paintings often celebrate the power of the female form and spirit. Your canvases portray women confidently inhabiting their bodies and their spaces. You draw girls in bikinis at the beach, you draw unclothed girls proudly showing their bodies without shame, as part of the fight against body shaming. You draw girls smoking, drinking alcohol in clubs, occupying spaces traditionally dominated by men, asserting independence, selfhood, and autonomy.
One day, a wealthy person buys your drawings at a high price. Then he tells you he wants more pieces like those. He wants drawings of young girls. Nudes, images expressing the freedom of young women, showing their bodies. You don’t know what he plans to do with these images. But as an artist, and as a woman, you thank your God for recognizing you, for your art reaching the chambers of the wealthy, that presidents, artists, and many others will see your work through this man’s collection.
In the end, you will be shocked, along with the whole world, when you discover that the wealthy individual has been using your artworks in unethical and deeply troubling ways. The world already knows your paintings; they have been exhibited, discussed, and admired. Now, those same canvases begin to carry a different meaning. They are no longer read as liberating expressions of art but are associated with abuse, moral distortion, and degradation. they remind people of the wrongs committed by the man who owned them.
Do these paintings still belong in galleries, museums, and universities dedicated to the study of art?
Do they cease to be innocent works of creative expression?
Can art exist independently of the intentions and actions of its final user?
What becomes of art when it is abused, when it is removed from beauty and contemplation and used for harmful, degrading, or unethical purposes?
And ultimately, what is art?
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