Sculpture By Claudette

Broken is part of a series of sculptures created in 2020. Bleijenberg began creating this piece shortly before the United States 2020 presidential election. The work embodies the collective experience of the final days of campaigning and election day. It captures the intense emotions present before, during the counting of the votes, and the insurrection following the vote counts. 
Broken depicts a nude female crouched on all fours crawling on the ground. The defensive pose alludes to her pain and fatigue. One hand covers her face while the other reaches forward in an attempt to keep her moving.  The multiple openings and deep pits in the surface texture of the piece allude to the scarring of metaphorical and literal beatings. Though the figure is on the ground, she is still trying to get up. She is down, but not down for the count.