Hidden in Plain Sight
Hidden in Plain Sight explores the complexities of childhood trauma, identity, and memory through constructed photographs, installation, statistics, and metaphor. By working with a range of disciplines, from video and sound, to ready-made objects, to still photography, I create a space for people to contemplate and perhaps even talk about the issue of childhood sexual abuse, as trauma is very difficult to talk about, let alone represent. With my use of color, juxtapositions that reference play, and the transference of factual representation onto innocent objects, I play to the strengths of multiple mediums to create a means of thinking about this difficult topic.
The act of constructing the scenes for the camera and creating installation spaces harkens back to playtime as a child, where we created our own worlds. I am now creating metaphoric plays for the camera, drawing from my own experience as a survivor of childhood trauma, to create a visual language that can be universally understood. There is a delicate balance I work from, teetering on the fine line between chaos and order, awful and sweet, and presence and absence.
Materiality assists me in exploring these binaries, as I use childlike iconography such as teddy bears and bright colors, as well as bed sheets and obsessive collections. The anxiety found in this meticulous collecting reflects the anxieties of not only my experiences, but the experiences of others who have suffered and survived.
