My ongoing body of painted self-portraits and still lifes offers first-person perspectives into a survivor’s account that creates a deeply intimate encounter between artist, subject, object, and viewer. I illuminate the lasting psychological impact that repeated sexual trauma has on an individual. The #MeToo movement exposed the breadth of sexual violence; this work reveals the depth of impact these acts, and the accompanying dismissal, disbelief, and shaming of them has had on the victims.

In my practice I explore my psyche around experiences with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), blurring the line between external presentation and internal reality to show the unseen injuries of sexual trauma that invade and haunt my mind and body. Symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, dissociation, and intrusive thoughts and images are suggested using mirrors, portraits within portraits, and phallic forms. Using the visual language of European masterworks, I manipulate the familiar to reframe classic imagery and narratives. The body of work seeks to actualize an experience akin to the inescapability of living in a body haunted by sexual trauma.