Mothers and Sons, by Israeli artist Andi Arnovitz who explores woman's role during wartime. Her work is featured at the United States Library of Congress, Yale University and the Yeshiva Museum in NYC. [Photo by He Keyao/chinadaily.com.cn]

A multimedia exhibition highlighting war crimes, genocide and rape has opened in Beijing’s 798 district where 35 artworks from more than 10 countries are on display, creating a thought provoking display.

"It is not about sexual abuse, it is about destruction," said Fion Gunn, an Irish artist and a curator of the exhibition. "It is a universal issue and we want people to confront it so that we can prevent it from happening again".

Comfort women of World War II are among the focus and artists from mainland China and Taiwan, Korea, Northern Ireland, the US and other countries explore the theme with varied perspectives. For example, Chinese artist Pan Yiqun's sculpture Young Comfort Woman vividly shows the innocence and vulnerability of the female during the war; artist Gao Yuan's piece Say Sorry, I'll Forgive You questions Japan’s attitude toward war issues.

The exhibition not only explores this one aspect, but a series of universal areas such as gender identity, violence and dignity, society and fairness, morality and psychology.

"We don't just send one message," said Niamh Cunningham, an artist from Ireland and also a curator of the exhibition. "It is a complex mixture of artworks that have many layers of meanings".

Cunningham's own work, Hair Lock, is also on show. The piece is a lock and chain made from her own hair. The unique quality of the piece reflects self awareness and explores the fragility and resilience of the human spirit.

The exhibition is to tour a string of cities around the world, including Nanjing, Taipei, Paris and London.

"We will take this exhibition to different places and let more and more people see it, but funding is a problem and we need support," said Cunningham.

The exhibition has been reviewed by art critic Holland Cotter in the New York Times, where he wrote: "The scope of the exhibition is, appropriately, global and current".

The exhibition will last until November 1. For more information visit its official website: http://www.intimatetransgressionsproject.com/