Undistorted Voice is a social engagement project using performative participation to foster dialogue by femme-identifying individuals in public spaces. The mission is to create space for every self-identified woman to present objective facts about who she is and ask open-ended questions as a first step in understanding the crises our society faces today so that we may move forward in dialogue and change. By invitation of the artist or personal interest, women go to high-traffic areas, distort their faces with rubber bands and tape, and silently hold a protest sign reading a pre-selected series of statements that are indisputable (“Power doesn't make someone right,” “Let’s have a conversation,” “Would you prefer to make a decision about your own ___?”). 

In 2003, Conarro wrapped her face in rubber bands and created a large-scale graphite drawing. This drawing resurfaced in the artist’s mind 13 years later as gender politics became a hot topic in the public consciousness. As politics and media became more divisive, Conarro asked herself how to have political conversations that are actual dialogue. As opposed to drawing a line in the sand and shouting across it, Conarro devised this piece to encourage dialogue in our everyday lives, including conversations about politics and gender issues. The physical distortion is meant for the viewer to think about judgments made on women’s appearance when speaking their minds in the public sphere. The questions being asked are vital following Conarros belief that something worth saying at a protest is worth saying daily.

The signs proposed by the artists have been carried by women during the Women’s Marches in Washington, DC and other cities across the country. 

From the invitation to performers:

DISTORTING YOUR FACE  …..

= makes you not look like you

= changes the way you feel and makes you not feel like you

= depicts a ‘power’ that is distorting you

= shows pain, physically uncomfortable

= portrays being constantly asked to accommodate and being overextended

= shows acknowledgement that you aren’t usually catching this much attention but some people do just for being them

= represents your adaptability and versatility to various situations