An Australian artist has filmed herself having un-simulated sex with a stranger in a so-called ‘rape representation’ to encourage debate on the patriarchal nature of sexual violence.

Sophia Hewson – who arranged and choreographed the three-minute piece called Untitled (“are you ok bob?”) – invited the man to her home in New York to record the video.

Throughout the scene the focus is on Miss Hewson’s face as she looks towards the camera, and only the arms of ‘Bob’ - the man’s pseudonym - can be seen.

“The raped woman is nearly always depicted with her face downcast and her eyes averted," she explained in a statement on her website.

“The most confronting aspect of Untitled ("are you ok bob?"), isn't watching as a woman is struck or penetrated, it's seeing her look back out at us from the experience.

“Caught in her gaze, the viewer is not only forced to bear witness to her subjectivity, but implicated in her desolation.”

The work of the 31-year-old artist, who was born in Cambridge, UK, but is now based in Melbourne, Sydney, has often explored the relationship between female objectification and the role of male power.

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She says her latest work is “conceptually challenging” as it “threatens our assumption that man's power is unsurmountable”.

She also said she wanted to highlight the idea that rape is "more than an unwanted sexual act, that it is the foundation for the entire institution of the patriarchy, and hence it is the crucial battleground for dismantling male power".

And she noted that while the piece may provoke a "horrified reaction", the subject of rape "isn't just about our desire to eradicate the epidemic".

In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' Show all 13 1 /13 In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Sohan, father and uncle of Murti and Pushpa, the two girls who were raped and hanged in Katra Sadatganj in Uttar Pradesh, is comforted by his mother (Photo Simon de Trey-White) Simon de Trey-White In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Murti's mother is briefed by the local Senior Superintendant of Police Atul Saxena (Photo Simon de Trey-White) Simon de Trey-White In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Sohan (55) holds passport sized images in his hands of his daughter Murti (right) and niece Pushpa (left) in Katra village, Ushait near Baduan, Uttar Pradesh (Photo Simon de Trey-White) Simon de Trey-White In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Murti’s brother Veerendar (Photo Simon de Trey-White) Simon de Trey-White In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Villagers stand by the mango tree from which the two girls were hanged (Photo Simon de Trey-White) In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Villagers and media throng the home of the murdered teenage girls (Photo Simon de Trey-White) In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Congress party Vice President Rahul Gandhi interacts with women during his visit to the village of the two girls In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Demonstrators from All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) hold placards and shout slogans during a protest in New Delhi against the recent killings In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Members of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) shout slogans during the protest In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Members of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union shout slogans as they participate in a protest against the gang rape In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape A member of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union shouts slogans In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape An activist places a candle on a pavement during a candle lit vigil to protest against the gang rape of two teenage girls In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Activists hold candles during a vigil

“It's essential to the patriarchy that rape is taboo, because demystifying the act challenges shame and erodes the fear that is needed to suppress the majority," she added.

Clarifying her motivation for the video, and perhaps pre-empting detractors, she stated: "I’ve never had rape fantasy and I didn't enjoy making the work physically."