Red K Elders
Medium: pencil on paper
Censored by: Instagram mostly and continuously, occasionally also Facebook
Was there a notification of removal or downranking, and if so what was the reason given?: "Sexually explicit or suggestive content"
"Goes against our guidelines on sexual activity or nudity"
"Adult sexual solicitation"
What date was your artwork removed or downranked?: September 30, 2021
Were you given an opportunity to appeal? If so, did you appeal, and if so, what was the response?: I have appealed over and over, they refuse to shift their position and I have to remove the drawings.
What consequences have you faced as a result of the downranking or removal? Please describe in detail: My whole account seems continuously shadowbanned. I have 13.2k followers but my posts get shown to only around 500-1000 people. I'm a solo mother raising two young daughters and art is my only income for my family. I live in England but my market is in the USA so I need a way to be able to reach those people. My print sales and income has dropped about 75% during the past two years, forcing me into other work to support my family, which takes me away from my main art work. I have been contemplating giving up altogether as it just doesn't seem sustainable any more. Urgently trying to find other ways to connect my work with a world audience that doesn't involve censorship.
I came off Instagram altogether, as I felt so frustrated by it, but my sales dropped even more, so it seems I do have to try to engage with this platform and find a way to make it work.
But I dislike how now the whole thing has impacted the content of my drawings. Now I consciously choose to pose my models in positions that I hope will not be censored. In a recent drawing I made sure his nipples were not in view! It's really ridiculous that Instagram should be impacting the actual work I am producing, as I'm worried it won't be seen otherwise.
Please write any additional comments.: My account was growing steadily but the following has not grown at all for a year and in fact I have less followers now. An artist friend and I were growing at the same rate, sharing tips and resources and she now has 22k.
I tried a six month period of paying for the blue tick verified badge from Instagram to see if that would help, but it did not. It did mean I could speak to their support, but they remained firm that I must remove any works that were flagged. This includes work where there isn't even any nudity at all, such as Hekate, The Visionary and Great Grandmother.
I have also gone through a period of self-censoring my own works with boxes and blurred areas, but these have also still been flagged for removal. My work is not sexual. I am making classical style pencil drawings of ancient gods and goddesses. Some are nude, in the classical style, but they are not doing sexual things! I'm really at a loss about it all - literally and emotionally.
I think pretty much every one of my drawings has been removed or flagged at some point, so I won't upload them all! I've uploaded a selection of some of the very many demands for removal I have encountered over the past few years. There have been many more.
(the date above is approximate, it's been going on continuously over the past three years or so)
Website: http://www.redkelders.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/rkelders.art
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rkelders.art