Bandage
Series
My work in this series seeks to explore the dichotomy
between beauty and pain occurring in human experiences.
This series represents the interweaving of our
relationships, their complexity, repetition, overlapping,
wounding, healing, transparency and opacity.
The pieces are built out of the deceptively ordinary
material of sheer adhesive bandages. A bandage is used on
the body to protect a wound from further harm and to allow
the body’s natural healing process to occur. The
connections we form with others have both the capacity to
create wounds and to heal them.
I am interested in the intricate ways we attempt to
insulate ourselves from experiencing psychological pain.
When we withhold, lie, and are in denial a layer of defense
is created. Sometimes this layer can be deceptively
beautiful despite the trauma below. These pieces relate to
the layers of protection that we build over time to mask
our experiences.
The physical process of creating this series conjures up
the image of a school nurse placing bandages on the
children that file into her office. As I work on a piece a
pile of bandage wrappers grows besides me. I am reminded of
the stories I have been witness to in my work as an art
therapist when children, adolescents and adults describe
the visceral moments when psychological pain caused by
another has touched them. Using the bandage in these works
symbolizes the action taken by a compassionate adult to a
child, placing a bandage on a wound. It conveys, “You
are in pain, let me make the hurt go away, this will
protect you and make you feel
better”.