WHERE DEMOCRACY Begins Mural
An urgent call to protect women’s rights
The Provocation
In the run-up to the 2024 election, our studio came together to challenge apathy, demonstrate the power of art, and take action.
The Solution
Thought Matter designed a mural repurposing Gustave Courbet’s The Origin of the World to bring the public up close and personal with a woman’s increasingly jeopardized right to choose what to do with her body — and make the urgency of protecting this agency unmistakable.
The hand-painted billboard was installed in a high-traffic area of New York City in the days leading up to the election.
The headline, “Where Democracy Begins,” reminds viewers that bodily autonomy, particularly women’s bodily autonomy, is essential to a free society. It also kept the urgency of Proposition 1 on the New York ballot on top of people’s minds, helping them connect the dots between their personal freedoms and the power of their vote.
But it was more than a graphic gesture. Thought Matter also held a voter registration rally beneath the billboard, and provided collateral highlighting organizations and individuals working to protect reproductive rights.
Impact
Aside from spurring voter registration – perhaps the most important impact – the work was also featured in a variety of high-profile publications including HyperAllergic, PRINT Magazine, Graphic Design USA, and Art Business News.
