An Artist’s Response to Gun Violence in USA
Gun violence is a public health crisis in the U.S., where firearm-related deaths and injuries continue to rise far higher than in most developed countries, and mass shootings in schools, workplaces, and houses of worship have become tragically commonplace.
In 2020, the most recent year for which complete data is available, 45,222 people died from gun-related deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This number represents nearly a 14% increase from the year before, a 25% increase from five years prior, and a 43% increase from 2010.
“I think we don't have any comprehension of how this is going on every day,” says Detroit resident and fiber artist Evelyn Hoey.
Through her gun violence awareness project, Evelyn spent all of 2022 documenting the lives of people killed last year by firearms in the U.S., over 44,000 reported.
Daily, she collected data from the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a national research nonprofit that verifies and categorizes gun-related deaths from over 7500 sources, to learn where and how each person died, their age, and whether police were involved.
“As you can see, it’s an average of about 120 people a day,” she says, laying out her felted wool and silk chiffon pieces lined with French knots, each knot signifying a life taken. “And more than half of those people are suicides.”
There have also been more than 600 mass shootings, almost twice a day on average, in each of the last three years, the GVA reports. The organization defines these events, where at least four victims are shot, either injured or killed, as primarily an American phenomenon.
In response to 2022’s data, Evelyn has designed twelve artistic pieces as calendar months.
In January, red embroidery floss drips from the scattered ends of nine-millimeter bullets. May’s spider web explores the intertwining of guns throughout society, from our culture and policing to sales, jobs, and investments. June's wrapped offering of lives sits beneath the gold-beaded Second Amendment, where Americans’ right to bear arms is enshrined.
March’s message, “Gone in a Heartbeat,” reveals what someone might have held in their hand or their pocket when shot: a cell phone, a ticket stub, a toothbrush, a toy.
As she continues to work on the art pieces today, Evelyn prays, as she did while knotting. She seeks mercy for those who took their own lives or someone else’s, accidentally or with intention. She prays for their loved ones, their communities, the bystanders, the police, and EMS that responded, and those working with gun-violence victims in hospitals and morgues.
She also remembers those who were injured and survived. “We're talking about a lot of trauma here,” she says. “A lot of trauma.”
In her research, Evelyn says she was surprised to learn how many teenagers in the U.S. are killing one another. It’s huge, she says, and perhaps no one taught them how to deal with anger or fear, or they had a moment in their young lives where these emotions overpowered them, and now those lives and others are ruined.
“Maybe if they didn't have access to a gun, most young people would have figured out a different way to deal with their issues,” she says.
Also, to her surprise, are the number of people killed by police in routine traffic stops.
“We hear about three or four maybe in a year, but it's a lot more than that. A lot of it is because they run,” she says, “but they run because they fear what might happen to them if they don't.”
Evelyn says she created this project to open her eyes to the enormity of gun culture and gun violence in our country and to see those traumatized, injured, and killed as her fellow human beings.
“I think it's given me a lot more awareness and thought about how difficult life is for a lot of people,” she says. “I feel more of a connection with people who are really suffering.”
She wants others to understand what’s happening in hopes they will join her in examining how they may unknowingly support guns. She points individuals to gunfreefunds.org to find out if their investments support guns or how to approach their employer about changing to gun-free investments for retirement funds. She also cites Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart as retailers who have dramatically changed their gun and ammo sales policies recently due to the rise in mass shootings and public outcry.
Evelyn says gun owners should be aware that a significant way legally purchased firearms get into the hands of people committing crimes is through theft. According to a recent report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), over 1 million legally purchased guns were stolen from private citizens and reported to authorities from 2017 to 2021. The National Institute of Justice reports that in cases involving K-12 school shootings, over 80% of individuals who engaged in shootings stole guns from family members.
Evelyn’s art exhibit, “We Felt the Loss of Them,” will be open to the public at Live Coal Gallery in Detroit from July 13 through August 3.
Sarah Williams