They Tried to Silence Her: Vanessa Guillén

My work addresses the life of slain United States soldier Vanessa Guillén. Guillén was a 20-year-old Army specialist who went missing in her military base on April 22, 2020. Months before she went missing, Guillén had told her mother about being sexually harassed by a sergeant but did not report it for fear of not being believed. After two months of searching for Vanessa, her body was found on June 30 in a shallow grave near her base. By drawing her portrait, I wanted to bring more awareness to the violent consequences women suffer for speaking up. Although she never reported the sexual harassment, by coming forward to her mother, Vanessa was never silenced. It is her mother who is now bringing light to her daughter’s death and a spotlight on the sexual harassment and assaults that happen in the armed forces. I want to show the ongoing struggle through the glitter coming out from Vanessa. The coffee signifies the obstacles she faced as a woman of color and her untimely death. The leaves coming out of her shoulders represent the ever-growing strength her mother finds in her daughter’s memory.