Project title: Exploring How Mix Media Helps to Process a Single Trauma Narrative
The act of creating art is a powerful sensation that moves a person to reveal inner parts of themselves into a visual image, by telling a story with visual dialogue. It is further celebrated by presenting it to the public, teachers, and lecturers alike, with the view of igniting fascination and conversation to provide meaning through immersive engagement. The artist or creative person does not present their artwork with the hope of being abused or publicly humiliated.
The body of work explores Sarah’s creative wound, with the desire to heal and overcome authority, power, privilege, control, and abuse in the hope of reclaiming her authorship, passion, dignity, and creative dreams. The research focuses on intersecting the creative wound story/trauma with ten art mediums in light of healing the wound and deepening awareness of the art medium's potential in art therapy.
The art mediums utilised in the artworks include: pencils, oil pastels, black ink, acrylic paint, watercolour paint, textiles, printmaking, collage, clay, and assemblage art which involves 3d objects. The materials have their own story and parameters, directing the exploration through their unique gifts and limitations while helping to inform the creative process, visual expression, and the story that arrives. Each artwork anchors a new perspective on the story, allowing for a holistic view. Which became a visual narrative on trauma that informed Sarah about how her body stored and reacted to this abusive incident.
Art and art therapy are closely related, but also distinctive from each other. They have always been at the heart of Sarah’s art-making processes and concerns when creating art, alongside nature, culture and spirituality. Sarah has been greatly influenced from her family’s creative lineage, as the joy of arts and crafts was passed down to her from the age of three and became an extension of her everyday experience growing up.
Displaying the artwork to the public, teachers and lectures is the last act of the healing journey with this investigation.