Woundings

While interpersonal violence encompasses physical, sexual, emotional, and verbal abuses, physical violence has become the hallmark of violence against women, thus rendering verbal and emotional abuse invisible and underdiscussed.  In the Woundings series, I represent emotional and verbal abuse by materializing its pain and trauma.  The paintings’ wounds are informed by French philosopher, Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection, which notes the way humans are repulsed by objects that remind them of their material vulnerability.  When materials usually contained (e.g., fluids, organs, and excrement) are witnessed outside of the body, one reacts with horror.  Similarly, by turning internal wounds inside-out, I illustrate emotional and verbal abuse victim/survivors’ vulnerability.  Using eye-pleasing inks, beads, and glitter, I balance the horror associated with the grotesque nature of lacerations, pustules, and necrosis. In balancing aesthetic appeal and abject repulsion, I aim to engage viewers and raise awareness to the issue of emotional and verbal abuse.