Box Series
2014
As an artist I see myself as an advocate for those who can’t speak for themselves. I take my own struggles with mental illness and force them into the visual plane. When emotions or ideas are put in a way that people can visually connect with, it allows for a clearer, unaltered interpretation. My box series is my visual dialogue of my history depression and self injury.
The outer steel box represents my body after a lifetime of mutilation at my own hands. It is bent and marred. It visualizes the feelings of discourse both inner and outer while still maintaining a level of beauty and mystery. The Brass box represents the quest for balance at any cost. Like the steel box it darkened to appear almost dirty while areas have been rubbed backed to create a halo around the piercing, alluding to the constant seeking of peace and hope from within. The piercings are angled inwards to scratch and harm as you reach for the silver box to remind you of the pain that still lingers from the self injury and how easy it is to get caught up with that rather than moving on. The Silver box is significantly smaller and less pierced than the other two boxes and symbolizes the life force within everyone, no matter how small the will to live and survive is still there deep down in all of us. It is still riddled with imperfections like the other three as a reminder that the scars and struggle will always be there but that they do not define your worth.
When placed inside each other, piercings on each box obscure the view to the inside to symbolize that though we are all valuable, to ability to see our inner worth with clarity is the hardest to achieve.
