Sting
Tayla Schaffer
Tayla Schaffer
Sting explores gender based violence in South Africa through the development of a self-defense tool and visual identity of a campaign. My intention is to raise awareness, connect with people, and take action.
It’s created from a need to connect and to carry forward the collective energy of South Africa’s protests.
A shared space for women to come together in strength, and in anger, and in resistance against gender based violence.
We want to have open conversations and question the social norms that exist in south african society.
Sting is about collective empowerment. It is about a community of women.
Sincerely,
A South African woman
Sting is a symbol of unity, of resistance, of anger that has somewhere to go. It exists as a weapon, but also as a campaign, a conversation, and a catalyst for change. It’s less about the knuckle duster itself, and more about what it represents.
Sting (the book) acts as a visual “users guide” for Sting and it remains intentionally open-ended.
I didn’t want it to be instructional or commercial. And just like Sting (the weapon), the book is also speculative.
The book introduces a collective of women who embody the project.
I explore girlhood, connection and self defense. And the weapon is found throughout as a reminder of context.
My goal for this book was to show how sting can be used every day. In South Africa do have to think about this every day.
This projects consistent use of risograph printing is not just for stylistic purposes. I chose Risograph printing because of its roots in DIY publishing and protest culture. Its imperfections, accessibility, and reproducibility represent the urgency and collectivity of protest culture.
