A roaring, red and gold, muscular cat sculpture is gathering increasing public attention in Sweden, as the world’s first publicly-commissioned statue dedicated to the MeToo movement. The artwork is entitled Listen, and claims its place high above main square, in front the old city hall in the politically progressive university town of Umeå. Locals have nicknamed it Puman — “The Puma” — and all day long they stop and stare, comment, and photograph it. The city officially inaugurated the sculpture in November.

Sculptor Camilla Akraka says that the cat is intended to protect survivors of gender-based violence symbolically. Although covered extensively in Swedish media, Puman has not been introduced to rest of the world.

In this, her first English interview, Akraka explains how the fierce cat is meant to represent the struggle against gender-based violence, and how its design was influenced by her own upbringing as a woman of color, and athlete, in Stockholm.

Photos and translation by Hanna Nordin

Interview conducted by Erik Campano

This interview has been translated and condensed for clarity. Please do not reproduce it without crediting Erik Campano and Hanna Nordin.

ERIK CAMPANO: Can you explain the basic concept of the design?

CAMILLA AKRAKA: The cat is up on this big polished, stainless steel. You could associate the tubes with prison bars, like being in a cage. Now, the cat is outside, on top of the bars, and free.

I asked myself: What can I make on that big square that would be worthy of the voices in the MeToo movement? How can you shape that?

So, I made this cat, and I put it on a plate and realized you can raise it and make it bigger that way. And I thought, we could make bars. This an aesthetic that is quite masculine, like with cars. Why not just use these materials which have a macho aesthetic — car-style materials — and make the work communicate in two languages? One is a tale of redemption, and the other is this other kind of aesthetic. They clash and you can see, what happens then?

The MeToo Puma, raised on a podium meant to represent prison bars, dominates the space in front of Umeå’s old city hall (now named “Rex”). Sculptor Camilla Akraka says that the cat is intended to protect survivors of gender-based violence symbolically. — photo by Hanna Nordin

Everyone calls it a puma. But you say it’s not necessarily a puma?

It wasn’t necessarily a puma when I made it. Now it is a puma. A lot of people are saying “a puma isn’t like that…”, “they don’t roar”, “it’s not red”… but I call it a puma.

Physiologically, is it a puma?

Physiologically, it has nothing to do with reality. Because when you work on getting an expression, the expression goes first, and the reality goes after.

So this is a stylized puma?

Yes, it’s a stylized puma. It’s not a realistic puma.

In what way does a stylized puma of metallic red and metallic gold express MeToo?

I thought: how would you illustrate the MeToo movement? What can I get hold of, that I can express with my language? And the answer was: the voice. So — it could have been a roaring elephant. But I think that a cat is an interesting animal. It’s beautiful and proud. It’s strong, fascinating, and impressive. Why not use a cat?

Sculptor Camilla Akraka with the MeToo Puma before its installation.

So is there a story in your life that is connected with MeToo, or with cats, perhaps?

When the city of Umeå announced this commission, it’s as if somebody said, we need a redemption song here, and I said, I know how to sing that redemption song.

I grew up in Sweden in the 70s. And I’m black. And this experience made me be seen as less worthy. And this is a strong part of my work, that has made me develop my language. I felt that maybe I could use my language in this case.

The bright red and bright gold puma, which is roaring, and you can see the teeth, is a strong, and perhaps, aggressive image. Do you think it’s an aggressive image?

I don’t really think so. My main purpose is to make the sound. So, I haven’t been like, I have to make an aggressive thing. Rather, I have to work with the body to make this sound — and to make give this sculpture a sound, even if you cannot hear it.

One of the traumas experienced by people who have been sexually abused is shame about their body. This sculpture, this cat, is boldly expressing its form. So, is there a message to survivors in that?

This cat — I can’t talk about other people’s experiences, of course — but this symbol, this figure, is not ashamed of anything. One experience, for me, is that I am good at running. Growing up, that was a channel for me to be accepted. So controlling and using my body was very important in my youth.

And a big cat runs fast.

Yes. So building muscles was something I could hold onto, to be accepted.

An Umeå resident posts on Facebook about about why she loves the MeToo Puma, December 8, 2019

Is the sculpture, then, meant to encourage?

I hope so. I wanted to make something that feels strong, something I respect. When you sculpt, you try to make the clay or whatever surprise you, so you go, “Ooo”. The feeling I wanted was an autonomous figure, on its own, standing by itself. “I keep my distance.”

Side profile view of the muscular, crouching MeToo Puma — photo by Hanna Nordin

Gender-based violence occurs, of course, to women, but also to men and people who do not identify as a gender binary. Does this cat have a gender?

I’ve been thinking, from the beginning, that it’s a female cat. But it’s very important, for me — because I like the clash — there are ideas about who is supposed to have strength. And I like to question these norms, that a woman shouldn’t have muscles. Why not? Look at all these women carrying grocery bags for kids, like my mom, years and years and years… I don’t want this thing to polarize, to divide.

What kind of division do you mean?

“This is only for women”. To me, it’s about looked upon as less worthy and revolting against that.

Revolting against it, regardless of the gender of the oppressed person?

Yes.

So you don’t want to say if the cat is male, or female, or non-binary?

[Akraka indicates a spectrum with her hands.] If I have a line, and there’s male there and female here, it would be here.

You’re pointing closer to female.

The context is the MeToo movement. I don’t want to get away from that idea.

It’s not only women who have used the MeToo hashtag. But it’s primarily women.

So, of course, it’s sprung from this context. And there it shall be.

All day long, bystanders photograph Umeå’s MeToo Puma. — photo by Hanna Nordin

You say the expression is not angry.

No. It’s about making the noise, and having to put all your power into making the noise.

The reason I ask is because it’s relatively unusual in contemporary public art to have that particular emotion expressed: anger, aggression, even assertiveness. And your sculpture has connotations of a medieval gargoyle on a cathedral or a castle. Are you borrowing from a very old tradition in that sense?

My idiom is the result of the country I’ve grown up in. I think it’s impossible not to touch or borrow, and I know that. I’ve not been consciously thinking: I’ve seen that there, I want to pick it from there. If you sculpt, you see that something is coming from a particular place, which you try to get away from. So, it’s not supposed to be a gargoyle.

About the red color: I’ve wondered, is that too close to a devil? From medieval illuminated manuscripts? I didn’t want to go there. So I went to a green one. Like a bronze, oxidized green one. But it was too much an oxidized bronze. Could it be purple? What is the meaning of yellow? I can’t have orange, because orange is too much like traffic cones, associated with plastic, so I can’t have that. I was like, I don’t want to make it a gargoyle, but I don’t want to make it a traffic cone, so it was a process of elimination. It was a matter of environment and context.

So, a gargoyle is intended to protect, or defend. Is your cat defending or protecting someone?

The person initiating the work — Moa Krestesen in the Umeå city government — she wanted to make a MeToo monument. And she has said about the sculpture, “it’s really nice, because to me, it is a watcher”. I said, “yeah, you’re right”. I wasn’t like, I’m going to make a watcher. But maybe I can make something that can make me feel safe.

It is directly in front of the old city hall, which is the symbol of civic society in Umeå. I wonder how you would react if someone saw the cat as a symbol of Umeå. Because it might become a symbol of Umeå. It’s very powerful. It’s impossible to ignore if you’re looking in its direction. It’s right in front of the city hall, in the main city square.

Do you think that’s bad?

I don’t have an opinion. But I do think it’s possible that it will become a symbol.

If so, I really hope it’s about protecting.

Protecting what?

The weak. Those who need protection.

You can literally stand right underneath this roaring cat. Perhaps a person standing in that position would feel protected…

That would be wonderful.

Interviewer Erik Campano, standing underneath and “inside the prison bars” of the MeToo Puma — while looking outward — photo by Hanna Nordin

…but also, perhaps, encaged. Because you have the bars.

You can have the bars in the back, then, and have an open view.

About the title, Listen: so, the puma — or I should say “cat” —

You can say “puma”.

It appears to be roaring, making a sound. But if the puma is roaring, we’re going to hear it in any case. We’re forced to listen. So the title is almost stating the obvious.

I’m like, this is a sculpture. And, you can’t hear a sound. I’m trying to describe the muscles pulling together to make the sound. I’m thinking as if I’m closing my eyes, and just trying to hear: Is there something coming from all around the world? If you are at train tracks, you can hear when the train’s coming, even if you cannot see it. At the beginning, you don’t know. But if you concentrate…

So, maybe the title could be seen as a help. [whispering] Listen, can you hear? And you can hear it.

I noticed you were just pointing all around the room. What were you pointing at?

Well, if you look at the context of MeToo: it started in one place, and then it happened everywhere. And from a few voices, it became a roar. I’m trying to describe what I feel when I think about the listen.

If people take your advice, and listen, what should they be listening for?

The voices trying to communicate about injustice. Fundamental crookedness like the strange mirrors in a fun house, that distort.

What is distorted here?

If you have a structure in society that accepts that some people are getting hurt, that is something wrong. That is what I call crookedness.

You’re talking about institutionalized civil injustice?

Maybe.

Listen to voices that are pointing out that there is this structural injustice?

Yes.

View of MeToo Puma from directly underneath

If somebody asked you to do a MeToo sculpture, but put it in a completely different place, say, Nydala [a lake in Umeå], on the beach there, you wouldn’t have done a red puma? Or is this going to be like an Andy Warhol thing? Are there going to be red pumas all over the world?

The color is specifically chosen for this place. I’ve been getting mails from people. One person told me about sexual harassment, and she’s been through a legal process, and it’s been going on for a couple of years, and she wrote that she was really frustrated, but she wrote that today, I walked by the city hall square, and the puma, and I felt strength. And she’s not the first. And I have received mail that’s just, “thank you, Umeå, for this piece of art called Listen. It makes me feel stronger, every day”. And when I get that kind of response, I feel like I want to cry, because this thing I’ve been making actually can help somebody. It’s a dream scenario, if it helps somebody. In your mind, you can visualize and hope for that… but you have to concentrate on doing your artwork. But if it helps, you’re like… shoot!

So, you were happy to receive these messages. Would too many messages like that be overwhelming to you? If you got 1000 messages like that, or 100…

I’m scared of those hateful ones.

Have you received any hate or negative response?

There’s been a lot of negative response. There’s a lot that’s very, very positive. But there’s also, “waste of money.” Or, “this looks male.” Or, “it doesn’t look like a puma.” Or, “a puma doesn’t roar.” Or, “yes, it’s a cool color, but a puma isn’t that color.” Of course! It’s not supposed to be a real puma.

Have you gotten criticism from any survivors of gender-based violence?

No, I haven’t. And I got a mail the other day from a place — a women’s safehouse — that asked me, will there be any miniatures? She’s not the first one, either! So maybe, it will become a symbol that people can somehow attach to, and make their own.