Survivor advocate, artist, and writer Rina Oh has announced a major public art project, an ambitious bronze monument intended to honor all victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The announcement comes at a pivotal moment, following the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which moved through the House and Senate before being signed by President Donald Trump. Oh traveled to Washington, D.C. for the historic press conference, where she stood in solidarity with fellow survivors and participated in a candlelight vigil marking a rare step toward accountability in a case that has shaped global conversations about abuse networks.
Rina Oh Courtesy of Rina Oh
Oh’s presence in Washington reflects a long and painful journey toward reclaiming her story. In 2019, after nearly two decades of silence, she publicly came forward about the abuse she endured at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein. When her name surfaced, Oh was thrust into the media spotlight. That exposure led to meetings with officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, the AUSA, and the FBI, where she provided sworn testimony. Representatives from the Epstein Estate later apologized directly, a moment that was both cathartic and destabilizing. The emotional toll triggered a prolonged hospitalization, requiring Oh to confront the trauma she had kept buried for years.
Today, Oh continues to manage post-traumatic stress disorder while rebuilding her life and speaking publicly about her experiences. She has now testified or served as a party in eight major U.S. legal proceedings related to the Epstein network. Her credibility has been reaffirmed repeatedly, vetted by federal agencies, the Epstein Estate, and attorneys across multiple cases.
Throughout her advocacy work, Oh has emphasized that the lived experiences of survivors are far more complex than the public often assumes. “Survivors are not a monolith,” she said. “Every story deserves to be heard, even the ones that challenge people’s assumptions.”
During her recent visit to Washington, she met with Congressmembers Ayanna Pressley, Nancy Pelosi, and Christopher H. Smith before stepping up to the podium at a survivor-led vigil. For Oh, simply stating her name publicly marked a profound reclaiming of identity.
Long before she was known as a survivor advocate, Oh was a vibrant force in New York’s creative world. Born in South Korea and raised across three continents, including formative years in Asunción, Paraguay, she immersed herself in the New York art scene as a young woman. She trained at LaGuardia High School, The New School, Parsons School of Design, and the French Culinary Institute, developing a multidisciplinary practice that blends visual art, sensory experience, and psychological exploration. She exhibited early works in downtown galleries, worked as an independent curator, and hosted podcast interviews for Whitehot Magazine.
Her debut public artwork, The Meditating Dream, was dedicated at Georgetown University when she was just 22. Trained under the patronage of two major art foundations from the age of 15, she developed a deep fluency in monumental sculpture, an experience she now draws upon for her D.C. memorial project. Over the years, her work has evolved into a distinctive blend of ceramic sculpture, bronze casting, oil painting, and pastel drawing. Recent exhibitions include her ceramic series “Royal Court Shoes” at the Ethan Cohen Gallery’s Kube Arts Center in Beacon, New York. She is also known for a series of life-size ceramic self-portraits, representing herself from ages one through twenty-two. Her humorous yet pointed portrayals often elevate everyday subjects into “royalty,” challenging social hierarchies through satirical inversion.
Oh gained widespread notoriety in the art world for her 2022 portrait of Anna Delvey (Anna Sorokin), which drew attention from the New York Times, Forbes, Insider, Artnet, ABC’s Nightline, The Art Newspaper, Yahoo, and other major outlets.
Central to her creative practice is Thirsty, her artistic alter ego, a younger version of herself who embodies vulnerability, rebellion, and the search for justice. Thirsty appears throughout Oh’s drawings, sculptures, and performances, serving as both witness and guide through the emotional terrain of trauma, identity, and recovery. Through this persona, Oh has explored themes such as the intergenerational trauma of Korean “comfort women” and “camptown women,” drawing parallels between historical atrocities and contemporary exploitation.
Her upcoming monument incorporates Thirsty alongside other figures that symbolize the journey from voicelessness to empowerment. Oh describes the piece as a testament to transformation: the moment a victim becomes a survivor, and a survivor becomes a victor. She views the memorial as a national acknowledgment not only of the women harmed in the Epstein network but of all people affected by human trafficking and violence worldwide.
During her time in Washington, Oh met survivor advocate Dr. Brook Bello, founder of More Too Life, whose work provides critical support to trafficking survivors. “Meeting Dr. Brook Bello was the best thing that could’ve happened after all these years,” Oh said. “I look up to her and visualize the future me, working alongside survivor advocates in this mission to put an end to human trafficking. She is a true hero.”
Oh is currently raising funds and applying for grants to bring the monument to fruition. For her, the project is not just an artistic undertaking but a form of public truth-telling, an effort to ensure that the voices of survivors are given space, dignity, and permanence.
Through her art, writing, and public advocacy, Oh remains committed to challenging silence and stigma while illuminating the human cost of exploitation. She believes that healing begins with truth and that reclaiming one’s story is the first act of freedom. As she works toward installing her monument in the heart of the nation’s capital, Rina Oh hopes to create a lasting reminder that the path from suffering to strength is not only possible but worth memorializing.
