01/20/2026
Crisis 🖤
Artist statement:
This work explores the experience of mental health crisis not as a single breaking point, but as a state of internal pressure—one marked by containment, looping thoughts, and quiet endurance. The figure is drawn from my own body, functioning as a self-portrait while remaining anonymous, emphasizing physical sensation over personal identity.
Spiral forms appear throughout the body to represent cyclical thought patterns and the feeling of being trapped within one’s own mind. By extending these spirals beyond the head, the work reflects how mental distress is not only psychological, but somatic—settling into the body and persisting beneath the surface.
The square void in the chest represents containment rather than release. It holds what cannot be fully expressed, even as traces slowly escape. This controlled leakage reflects the reality of survival during crisis, when restraint—not catharsis—is often what keeps a person intact.
The surrounding black space is not meant to signify emptiness, but weight—the constant pressure that surrounds and presses inward during periods of instability. This piece does not aim to dramatize or resolve mental illness, but to acknowledge it: honoring the experience of remaining present, embodied, and alive within the spiral.
