When a 19-year-old art student in the US created a 'map' of touch on the human body for an assignment, she had no idea it would go viral.
What seemed to resonate with women, particularly in the current political climate, were the red paint marks signifying the touch of "someone I told no", creating a disturbing visual map of sexual assault.
Emma Krenzer, who attends Nebraska Wesleyan University, posted her art work on Twitter, feeling inspired to share it after participating in the Women's March on Washington.
The prompt for this project was to create some sort of map. I created a map of human touch on another humans body and it's lasting impact pic.twitter.com/3110jwIMPt
— ur mcm (@cheezitfan1) January 23, 2017
Krenzer wanted to draw particular attention to the impact of unwanted touch and sexual assault on women. The map's legend explains that different coloured paint represents the touch of different people on an individual's body.
She told Buzzfeed that she created the work primarily for herself, "to actually visualise the lasting impact that touch can have on an individual."
Krenzer said that when she realised how many people her work resonated with, she felt both empowered, and heartbroken.
"Some people told me they burst into tears after viewing the piece and others thanked me repeatedly for creating it. I really don't have the words to describe how it makes me feel," she told Buzzfeed.
To have complete strangers in my mentions complimenting my art is literally the best feeling in the world
— ur mcm (@cheezitfan1) January 23, 2017
Krenzer photographed a friend's body, printed out a life size copy of the photo, and used her fingers to paint on the touches of other people in life onto the photograph.
"I thought about what was true for myself, and also, what I perceived to be commonly true for people in general, when I mapped out these touches," she said.
The powerful visual was shared by more than 100,000 online, many of whom were deeply affected by the piece.
@nvrgonnagetlaid I saw this tweet this morning right after I woke up and it was sooo breath taking. It's such an emotionally touching piece.
— Michaelaa (@MichaelaWells97) January 23, 2017
@nvrgonnagetlaid honestly this is so creative and brings to light about the unspoken sexual harassment that happens, amazing👏🏼
— Turtlehammah (@brandonaturtle) January 24, 2017
Krenzer, who is vocal about her own struggle with mental illness, has expressed that whilst she is happy to have drawn attention to an important issue, she is overwhelmed with the attention that the art has received.
Seeing how many people were impacted by the work, Krenzer now plans to use it as the basis for an entire body of work.I'm actually getting terrible anxiety from this piece blowing up idk
— ur mcm (@cheezitfan1) January 24, 2017
"I just really like working large scale with the human body and expressing important messages about it."