CdA Art Explores Human Misgivings

Sex trafficking and modern slavery aren’t typical subject matter for artists, especially Coeur d’Alene’s Mary Dee Dodge. She’s better known for her brightly colored, whimsical works, often made with her husband and fellow artist, Allen. Yet her mind turned to the sex trade when interpreting the prompt “pleasure without conscience.” It’s one of Mahatma Gandhi’s social sins that are the focus of the Human Rights Education Institute’s new art installation. Dodge resurrected the impact of a book she read, The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam, which detailed the Cambodian woman’s escape from the Asian sex trade. On an eight-by-fourfoot panel, Dodge conjures images of an anti- Eden: A pregnant woman covers her head and belly in fear and Cerberus — the three-headed hound guarding the gates of Hades — binds women with chains made from snakes. Another woman submits but cries a river of tears/ Carrie Scozzaro , Inlander. More here . (Inlander photo)

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