Butterfly or ants? Which one speaks to you more right now? (Back out to my full gallery to see both).
These are the words I wrote down when I was making it:
autonomy
prison
control
release
violence
infection
abuse.
I kept adding to the list as I went through the shooting and editing process. What words would you add?
I don't make a lot of art that is highly personal (I'm okay, and this one is not, and though my husband loaned his hands, it was lovingly). But I make a lot of art that is highly personal to *someone*. This one might be for you. If you resonate with those words...if you have ever been abused. If you have ever felt infected by someone else. If you have ever been in a struggle for control. If you have ever lost your autonomy. If you feel like you are trapped in someone else's life. If you find hope in that butterfly. If you find disease in those ants. If you have ever been mistreated. If you are afraid of any of that. If you know someone who has.
Someone once told me that artists can only make art from their own experiences (please be free to agree or disagree). But I say most artists are empaths. We want to understand and help those around us. I strive to be an artist that is not limited by my experiences, but tries to expand her world by touching the lives of others. My art is made *more* because of your connection to it and through my attempts at understanding a world outside my own - thank you for being here.
"Infection" self-portrait, May 2020
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