S. O. S (star of the show)

Pain, men, sex, hurt, drowned.

Numb.

Can’t feel the pain, don’tremember the numbers…2,4,6,8.

How many more (men) must I take?

4,6,8,10.

How old was i,again?

6,8,10,12.

How long left to endure?

3,0,9,6.

Kidnapped, trafficked, enslaved, abused, stolen, tricked, sold.

“You are mine now, your life belongs to me…”

Stuck!

Obey me, obey me, OBEYYY MEEE!! Says Wolfgang. Obey, obey, obey… The master, I thought.

Struck!

Star of the show…NATASCHA! Could he kill me? He needs me… The star of the show. He’s star.

Fuck!

“We are here for one thing only, to make money, pay mumtaz back and go home”

Prosseco, let me drown. Until, I’m hanging. Til I’m…I’ve been crying. Slowly… forgetting. Let me go!

“Obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me obe me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me, obey me” … Echoes.

Stuck!

S. O. S someome HELP me… S. O. S.. SOMEONE HEAR me. S. O. S.. someone SEE me but DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!

Fuck, fuck…fuck it. I’m stuck.

Shot! shot! shots!… I down some mo’, cry some mo’, drown some mo’.

Thousands of girls and women are being trafficked to Italy from Nigeria into a life of forced prostitution.

Princess okonko was trafficked from Nigeria in 1999 and with the help of Alfredo who became her husband she brought her freedom. Together they have helped hundreds in Asti and Sicily to escape their traffickers.

Natascha kampusch an Austrian girl was abducted by Wolfgang Přiklopil aged 10 in 1998. She was kept prisoner for 3,096 days.

Elizabeth Ann smart an American woman was kidnapped aged 14 by David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee.

Sophie Hayes, a British woman. Aged 24, she was lured to Italy and forced by her boyfriend to work as a prostitute for 6 months.

16 years old Michelle and 19 years old Marisol were both abused by foreign men as children.

Frida Farrell a Swedish 24 years old woman was kidnapped by a man called Peter posing as a photographer and kept in apartment 407 Harley Street against her will where she was repeatedly drugged and raped by dozens of men.

S. O. S. Original piece. Acrylic paint on canvas. 101cmx98.5cm. Made in England 26 December 2019 by Deborah Issa. Prints available and original piece available.

Children are number one, the most vulnerable, the weakest there the ones we are challenged to defend, to protect and to help – fr Shay Callum

Everyone deserves freedom and their basic human rights, and although he stole my freedom, I am determined to do everything in my power to make a difference and share a story of Hope to others. – Sophie Hayes

I was drugged and raped by dozens of men in a Harley Street flat – and it’s happening to thousands of other women all over the country –Frida Farrell

Sex slavery is the fastest growing criminal business in the world.

5.5 million children are victims of human trafficking worldwide.

Every year at least 20.6 million adults and children are kidnapped to be bought and sold into the illegal sex trade industry.

40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage.

1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.

24.9 million people trapped in forced labour.

16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture.

So far in 2016, more than 3,500 Nigerian women have arrived on Italy’s coast line.

Human trafficking earns profits of roughly $150 billion a year for traffickers.

The average annual profits generated by each woman in forced sexual servitude is $100,000.

Traffickers are now targeting more women by exploiting Europe’s refugee crisis.

Organisations helping trafficking victims: NGO piam onus, PREDA human rights foundation, the Sophie Hayes foundation, operation railroad underground, the Elizabeth Smart foundation.

Recommended Books/movies based on trafficked victims : Joy is a 2018 Austrian drama film. The plot revolves around Joy (Anwulika Alphonsus), a young Nigerian woman who walks the streets to pay off debts while also supporting her family in Nigeria and her daughter in Vienna

Sold is a novel published in 2006. Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl, her stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family. He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi journeys to India and arrives at “Happiness House” full of hope. But she soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution.
An old woman named Mumtaz rules the brothel with cruelty. She tells Lakshmi that she is trapped there until she can pay off her family’s debt-then cheats Lakshmi of her meager earnings so that she can never leave.
Lakshmi’s life becomes a nightmare from which she cannot escape.

If you tell anyone…

… Fill the blank…

They won’t believe you, will kill you, leave you, abandon you, be mat at you, send you away, send you back…
If you tell anyone.

This is one of many childhood stories. Either you’ve experienced first or second hand maybe you read about it on a “take a break” magazine?

I’m sure you can relate somehow.

What really happens behind closed doors? What happened when the doors closed? When no one was there, no one could hear…

It’s time to speak up, speak your story;speak the pain, let’s hear your voice.

This is an acrylic by acrylic painting, I created last year.

The dark colours, represent ‘the dark times’. Times when you thought there will not be a light at the end of the tunnel.
There is a light awaiting for you to breakthrough, there is hope, there’s a future and it needs you to get to that happy place. A place full of coulor, full of life;joy.


This painting is represented with a young child on their knees, forcefully performing oral sex, with hands tied behind the back.
The adult/abuser, groomer or whatever you may call it… Is the one in control.
Could this be a family member, could it have been a teacher, someone in higher position, could it have been a friend, neighbor?

“Around one in five adults aged 16 to 59 (an estimated 6.2 million people) had experienced some form of abuse as a child, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales” https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/peoplewhowereabusedaschildrenaremorelikelytobeabusedasanadult/2017-09-27

“The true extent of child abuse in the UK is unknown, in the main due to the difficulty survivors have in speaking about their suffering. It is usual for a person to take many years to first disclose abuse suffered in childhood, and it is believed that many people are never able to discuss it.”

“Over 50,000 children in the UK have been identified as needing protection from abuse.”

“It’s not just adults that abuse children: 65.9% of the contact sexual abuse reported by children and young people was perpetrated by other children and young people. “

“A child is usually abused by someone they know or trust, such as a teacher, Scout leader, someone from church, or at home. Over 90% of sexually abused children are abused by someone they know.”

“73% of UK children know another child who is suffering from neglect.”

https://www.boltburdonkemp.co.uk/child-abuse/what-is-it/facts-and-statistics/


“In the United States, more than 4 children die from child abuse and neglect on a daily basis. Over 70% of these children are below the age of 3.“

“Approximately 5 children die every day because of child abuse.”

“About 80% of 21-year-olds who were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychologicaldisorder.”

“Children who experience child abuse and neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violence crime.”

“Abused children are less likely to practice safe sex, putting them at greater risk for STDs. They’re also 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy.” https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-child-abuse
Don’t wait until its too late. x

My body, My worth…(chyna)

Intro: Putting ourself in the shoes of someone in the adult industry, wear their panties and feel what they feel.

It is introduced and spoken in the first person ‘I…’ as it is her speaking to her audience, right from inside of her frame. Here we go…

I am her, chyna. I am she, I am my body… My, my, my… Where is my worth?

I take a great interest in visually documenting the journey/life as someone in the adult industry. What is it like over there? What really goes on in their world… ‘NO‘! ‘It is forbidden‘ says one who hasn’t worn the shoe or read the book of a ‘prozzi‘, ‘dancer‘; the sex worker.

3… 6….9…12 years a slave. ‘How long have I been enslaved’?

‘My body is my temple, yet, it is also my brand, my work, my life. View me here, stuck in this frame; read my story: the scars, the hurt, the pain, the skeleton is out the closet, finally‘.

This could represent, the black women in the 60s being used as sex slaves. Represents the sex workers who feel stuck in the industry, the same way as I am stuck in this frame, baring my naked body, self afflicted scars, my pain. Here I am, vulnerable. Represents young teens being trafficked in places like Japan, Hong Kong, other countries. Represents your friend, family, neighbor, colleague, or someone you suspect in the industry but don’t quite understand the ‘why‘ of a sex worker. As we all know ‘why’ is a driving and motivating force when rembering ‘why’ you are doing, what you’re doing. Could it be money and greed or poverty and desperation?

Could this be ‘Patsey‘ the slave girl after receiving the worst of ‘Epps’ treatment? Could it be the naked, helpless Patsey screaming for mercy after taking a whipping from ‘Platt‘?

Could it be, the art behind the movie? The art behind the book?… How long has one been enslaved? I hear chants of “freedom, freedom, freedom“!!

Could this be a celebrity you know… Black chyna as a dancer in the industry. My title actually was inspired by one of black chyna series “therealblacchyna”. Where she went to see a therapist with her mother. Prior to her mother entering the room, she had her own private session with the therapist which he said “My body, My worth” to miss chyna who seemed to instantly relate to this direct quote, and opened up a little bit.

The chains has a date of birth imprinted ‘1996’, which is my date of birth, after all, I’m the artist :). Everything on this frame is authentic, Including the hair on the ‘privates‘, as it is my own human hair from my own head.(FYI) Acrylic paint, acrylic pastels. 60x34cm. (Copyright house limited protection) deborahissa2019

“She takes control of her own body, then after she’s climaxed, she’s back where she was. She’s back in hell and that’s when she turns and cries” – Steve mc Queen https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/slate.com/culture/2013/10/12-years-a-slave-true-story–fact-and-fiction-in-mostly-accurate-movie-about-solomon-northup.amp

“I was a prostitute for 7 years” – Rachel Moran https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/the-life-of-an-anti-prostitution-campaigner-1.2230971%3fmode=amp

“northen Ireland is about to criminalise those who pay for sex” – the Irish Times https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/the-life-of-an-anti-prostitution-campaigner-1.2230971%3fmode=amp

“prostitution is not a job, the inside of a woman‘s body is not a workplace” – Julie bindle. https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/30/new-zealand-sex-work-prostitution-migrants-julie-bindel

“Mpumalanga police rescue 50 sex workers“- SABC digital news 25/10/19

“Gardai investigates attacks on sex workers primarily in the Dublin area“– The Irish Times 14/11/19 https://www.rte.ie/news/crime/2019/1113/1090733-sex-workers/

“A study by human rights charity ‘Rightsinfo’ found 49 per cent of British people are in favour of decriminalising brothel-keeping – an offence punishable by up to seven years in prison“- Maya Oppenheim 26/08/19 https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sex-worker-rights-decriminalisation-law-reform-brothels-uk-a9076731.html%3famp

“People are horrified that sex workers suffer so much violence and understand that the prostitution laws, which force women to work in isolation, increase the danger of attack” – Maya Oppenheim 26/08/19 https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sex-worker-rights-decriminalisation-law-reform-brothels-uk-a9076731.html%3famp

“…setting aside ‘the sin’ we are not so bad as we thought to be.” – the guardian https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/20/sex-workers-sheffield-spearmint-rhino

“The campaign to close the strip clubs has forced dancers to battle for their jobs, but they are fighting for so much more. They are fighting for the right to work, for bodily autonomy, against slut shaming, and for their rights to be respected, and this is a very old struggle indeed.“– the guardian https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/20/sex-workers-sheffield-spearmint-rhino

“An anonymous sex worker referring to herself as ‘Another Unfortunate“. – the guardian https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/20/sex-workers-sheffield-spearmint-rhino

“some women, often vulnerable and with addiction issues, are performing sex acts for as little as £3.”-mirror 18/03/19 https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/sex-workers-offer-services-just-14150491.amp

The words in bold relate to the industry. Numbers could signify the possible ages of these sex workers ranging from 3 years old upwards.

Keep on with me on this journey, cheers. Instagram :@deborahisart

Climate change

“Wish you were here”

How do you contribute towards climate change?
This piece was created by myself, solely for a festival in Stratford circus art centre raising awareness about climate change.
My postcard represent the beautiful earth and what it could look like if more people contributed towards climate change.

“Wish you were still here”…

This is a more obnoxious version of my “Wish you were here” postcard.

Representing the impact climate change could have on our planet if it is not effectively taken care of.

#dsrt#climatechange#togetherwecan