By Kayla Langmaid

A Minnesota multi-award winning visual artist’s exhibit has brought controversy to Winona.

Shirl Chouinard of Cambridge, Minnesota, designed “Unspeakable,” an exhibit to promote awareness of family violence and sexual assault.

The exhibit featuring 10 life-sized fabric dolls was placed in the lobby of Winona State University’s Maxwell Hall from March 23 to April 10.

The dolls represented abused women and families, according to Chouinard.

Chouinard’s dolls in the exhibit had black patches of fabric, which represented bruises.

Emily Meskan, Winona State junior, said she overheard students who said the exhibit was creepy.

She said it took her “away” that the exhibit was placed in Maxwell’s lobby.

During a university tour, a family was brought through the lobby, according to Meskan.

Meskan said she saw a look of sheer terror on a little girl’s face while she passed by the dolls.

“That doesn’t seem fair to have people who are unsuspecting of it,” Meskan said.

Ruth Charles, a WSU social work professor, said she saw Chouinards’s artwork exhibited at a conference last June.

Charles said Chouinard was the only art exhibit at the conference and it stood out.

“I wanted to bring her here,” Charles said.

Charles explained the 10 pieces could represent one day in a social worker’s life.

“In life experiences you might not have experienced this or seen this,” Charles said.

“Other majors, they might not know what actually happens behind closed doors and this is the chance to open those doors to know what happens,” she said.

Charles said she tried to have the exhibit featured in Winona State’s Watkins Art Gallery but there wasn’t space for it.

Abigail Eucker, a freshman at Winona State, sat in the lobby to study. Eucker said she thought the dolls were creepy at first.

She saw why the exhibit might upset people.

When Eucker read the information about the exhibit, she didn’t think it was so bad.

Chouinard spoke at Winona State on Wednesday, April 8, about why she made the dolls.

As a part of the lecture series, Consortium of Liberal Arts and Science Promotion, Chouinard explained she was abused as a child.

“Many – many years horribly abused as a little girl,” Chouinard explained. “I was raped three times before I was 13.” Chouinard said.

Chouinard said the doll named “Monica” was made in honor of one of her sisters.

“I earned the right to make this work,” Chouinard said.

Chouinard said she knew there was controversy because of her exhibit.

She said she knew there was a post on a

WSU Confession Facebook page from an anonymous student.

A part of the confession said, “As a rape and assault survivor, it really haunts me to walk in there. It makes me feel sick. The way to end rape culture isn’t to put up traumatic art exhibits, it’s to educate our young men. I can’t even walk into Maxwell right now.”

For Chouinard, if at least one person talked with her after her lectures, then it would make a difference.

“This will reach a person,” she said.