In our new reality of untruths and the endorsement of misogynistic and racist undercurrents in the United States, the Coin Cunts stand as a visual symbol of empowerment and equality for all people/s with a vulva. By exposing the mysterious interior of a ubiquitous object, we find each Coin Cunt is distinct just as every human is unique. A tease to the imagination, these transposed coin purses challenge our visual, political and cultural associations of women, money, and power. Since their inception, the Coin Cunts have given voice to and raised awareness for many causes around the globe such as reproductive justice, sexual exploitation, FGM (female genital mutilation), racial disparities in maternal health, unnatural body image ideals, the rise of labiaplasty, and the list continues to grow.
Coin Cunts, 2021 coin purse, thread 20" x 20 x 1 1/2"
Artist Bio:
American artist Suzanna Scott (b. 1974) renders sculptural work from a plethora of materials and objects that examine intersections of existence within the human body. She simultaneously seduces and repulses the viewer using excessive hand stitching, skin-like surfaces, and variations of the color pink. In addressing issues in/of the body, her work draws attention towards many social struggles surrounding equality and bodily autonomy. She often plays a visual sleight-of-hand, giving the viewer a double-take, as seen in Coin Cunts (2015 to present), where inverted coin purses are stitched up to resemble vulvae. Scott’s work has been exhibited across the United States from Los Angeles to New York and internationally from Chile to Malta. She lives and works from her home studio in Ruston, Louisiana.