The aesthetics of silence

Visual theopoetics in the aftermath of clerical child sexual abuse

Authors

  • Alexandra Banks Stellenbosch University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17570/stj.2024.v10n1.11

Keywords:

Child sexual abuse, aesthetic testimony, trauma, theopoetics

Abstract

This article builds on the growing field of trauma-informed theology by considering survivors’ materially transformative creative output as a mode of non-verbal testimony to experiences that exceed the range of usual human experience. Through a theological and aesthetic analysis of the LOUD fence movement in Ballarat, Australia, this article aims to demonstrate how material expressions and visual poetics can serve as legitimate forms of trauma testimony, offering survivors of clerical child sexual abuse alternative ways to bear witness when verbal testimony is impeded by institutional silencing and the psychological impacts of trauma. Drawing on South African theological perspectives on lament and aesthetic resistance, this analysis demonstrates how material expressions of trauma testimony resonate across contexts where institutional silence has impeded healing and reconciliation. The purpose of reconfiguring the action of telling One’s story should include visual poetics in theological discourse to provide a framework for understanding trauma testimony beyond verbal expression. Theopoetics honours the social imposition of silence within the sphere of profound suffering while creating space for alternative forms of witness that can capture the fragmentary, somatic, and symbolic nature of trauma narratives that often exceed conventional linguistic and religious testimonial frameworks.

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Published

2025-01-16

Issue

Section

General Articles (articles from all theological disciplines)