1000/200
In 2020 Ali Waller began working on her project /200, which was started in response to the trial of Jeffery Epstein in the Netflix documentary “Filthy Rich.” Ali’s installation has been incredibly impactful for so many survivors of sexual abuse as they learn how to navigate sexuality, intimacy, and bodily autonomy.
The project consists mainly of plaster casts of the torsos of sexual assault survivors. The project allows survivors to take control of their body and their bodily autonomy in a way that was stolen from them in their assault. The process to get cast is a simple, but emotionally vulnerable experience.
When Ali begins the casting process she asks a simple, but very difficult question: “What is your relationship with your body?”
This question floored me, and every time I was cast the answer changed. I first met Ali when I learned about her project, back when she had a goal of 200, and volunteered to be cast. I have been cast three times and each time the experience has a new impact on my heart.
The casting process as a whole is based on the consent and comfort of the volunteer. Ali communicates with you and asks where she is allowed to touch as well as what areas to avoid. She begins by having you rub coconut oil on the skin, and when she begins the plaster cast, she starts by first covering the nipples and moving on to the rest of the area being cast. The process can be paused or stopped completely whenever the volunteer chooses.
Being in such a vulnerable place with a stranger can be intimidating, but with Ali, the goal is to remind you that your body is your own and that you are the only one who has a say over what happens with it. She exudes a wonderful sense of respect and acceptance that makes the entire process very calm and simple, even when the subject matter is so heavy.
When the cast is dry and ready to be removed, Ali reminds you that you are respected, received, supported, and heard, and that you can leave the pain with the cast and that it does not have to be a burden you bear alone anymore.
Ali has been through her own struggles with sexual assault, completed three years of EMDR trauma therapy, and has found a way to cope that has also helped over 1000 other survivors to cope.
Ali is active on Instagram (@alicekayw) and TikTok (@alicewaller0) — both platforms follow her creative process and what is happening with the project.
“If people wouldn’t listen to me, they would listen to all of us,” Ali says in one of her TikTok videos, and listen they have.
Since the project began, Ali has done installations in eight different galleries across the country, and plans on continuing the project throughout her life.
Her goal with the project is, “...to spark conversations in the communities I inhabit for however long,” she said.
The installations have looked different in each gallery where Ali has been. In her first showing of /200, back when it was titled “I Will Not Let Him Win in Death,” the room was lit with a cool blue and purple light that shone brightly against the stark white plaster casts on the walls and on the floor; on the other side of the wall, there was a small glass box that held a broken jaw bone.
Later showings of the installation have included flowers and warm lights that invite the viewer in to see how growth has come from the pain held in the casts. In her recent show in Denver, there was live casting done on some volunteers so that everyone was able to see the casting process and experience a piece of such a vulnerable and intimate moment.
Ali has continued to cast survivors and will be doing an installation in her gallery space in Chattanooga entitled “1000/200” where there will be live dancing, live music, live painting, and live casting. All casts are done on consenting volunteers, so if you would like to be cast there is a link in her bio where you can sign up. You can purchase tickets for 1000/200 through the same link.
The show will open on September 24th and go from 7 pm-11 pm.
When asked, “What do you have to say to survivors of SA?” Ali said,
“I would reiterate my affirmation I give each person I cast. You are believed, received, and respected. This project was made with you in mind. Chanel Miller says it best, ‘Stay tender in your power. Never fight to injure, fight to uplift.’ You are not obligated to make people feel comfortable in your own realm of healing - stay tender with yourself even when you feel hardened.”
“For anyone who has not experienced SA or had loved ones tell you of their assault, stay patient. It can be so hard to watch someone go through the ugliness of healing, but that journey is not about you. Listen to the people who reach out to you in need. Tell them you believe them and don’t heap shame for what you don’t understand. Your support is vital.”