'Masked Bride' says she is not a danger to Winnipeggers
A woman dressed in a white mask and a wedding dress wants people to know she is not a threat to their safety.
The Masked Bride of Toronto, who would not give her name because of the anonymity of her performance art, is here to perform alongside the Winnipeg Fringe Festival.
The actor came to the CBC Manitoba newsroom because she was worried about people mistaking her for the masked teenage girl arrested Tuesday after holding a gun to her head in the middle of Portage and Main, Winnipeg's busiest intersection.
She wanted "to assure the Winnipeg public that this bride in this costume is in no way a threat to them," she wrote.
Part of the Masked Bride's character is she never speaks. She didn't break character in her interview with CBC, answering all questions by writing responses in a reporter's notebook.
The timing of her arrival in the city was coincidental, she said. She'd always intended to visit Winnipeg during the popular Fringe Festival. She's not affiliated with the festival, but performing on the streets.
"I am trying to find a balance between respecting and reassuring the public and continuing my work," wrote the Masked Bride.
The Masked Bride's letter
Here's the letter the Masked Bride wrote during her performance for CBC:
Winnipeg police picked the Masked Bride up on Wednesday afternoon. After they took her statement, she asked to be taken to the CBC.
"I am very concerned about the anxiety may create," she wrote in the letter she presented to security.
She wrote she does not want to be seen as a copycat or threat to safety, or as mocking the 17-year-old girl from Portage and Main.
"This project's goal is to denounce violence and brainstorm solutions as a community," she wrote. "It's a huge concern if this presence, 'The Bride,' becomes a symbol of violence. She is meant to be a symbol of survival."
The mask is for the silenced
The Masked Bride said she has been victimized by violence most of her life, from her childhood to her last relationship. She said she has experienced physical, sexual and emotional violence.
"I was inspired by the many conversations following the Jian Ghomeshi case, as well as the statement from the Stanford victim," she wrote.
She started her performance on June 28 in Toronto. Since then, she has been creating quite a stir on social media from people trying to figure out her identity and her motives.
She herself has never been married, but chose to wear a white gown for her performance because it represents a strong image of femininity in society, she said.
"The mask is for the silenced, the voiceless and the faceless," she wrote. 'They are among us at all times trying to live with their secrets that for whatever reasons they can't share."
The performance includes writing in her journal, where she pens anonymous letters to her abusers. She said the goal is not to out them or shame them, but rather a process of healing for herself.
"Sometimes the details are disturbing," she wrote. "The one [someone] happened to pick up dealt with a rape at the hands of one of my partners."
When she is done with a letter she rips out the page and the feelings it contains and leaves it behind in public.
When asked if she wants people to read them, she responded with: "It doesn't matter."
"These [letters] are snapshots of a mind trying to process violence," she wrote. "My story is by no means special or isolated."
She hopes her performance art will get a conversation going about domestic violence and violence against women and children. She wants to empower other women to speak out, get help or start their own healing journeys.
"I hope it may inspire others to write their own anonymous letters or find their own way of grieving and releasing the hurt that was imposed and should not belong to them," she wrote.
The Masked Bride's notes
Here's the full handwritten CBC interview with the Masked Bride. Scroll down or click here to read excerpts.
Excerpts of the written interview
On her performance:
"The mask is for the silenced: The voiceless and anonymous/faceless. They are among us at all times — trying to live with their secrets that for whatever reason they can't share. I know this applies to both men and women."
"I, like many women and men, have been victimized by violence in my life. The psychological state of such victimization rarely leaves its subject in a position to respond in ways that seem to make sense to the public."
"Silencing is what allows violence to perpetuate. Abusers are not monsters. They are hurt people in need of healing. If all the victims and abusers live with is shame and guilt, healing becomes impossible."
"My hope is that everyone can feel the freedom to seek healing — the abusers included."
On the masked girl who put a gun to her head:
"I am very concerned about this young woman and what may have motivated her actions yesterday. Sometimes we turn to violence out of desperation — my project, my anonymity, my project's ambiguity is meant to cultivate a sense of community and support."