ME - In Public



I wanted to show how I hid my invisible wound due to traumas I suffered.  They can hurt just as much, if not more, than physical wounds.

This mask represents what I allowed people to see, based on the mask I wore, people thought I was the picture-perfect example of physical, emotional and mental well-being.  However, on the inside, I was a prisoner of my own mind, paralyzed with self-doubt, shame, guilt, disgust, just to name a few.  My traumas lived deep within my soul; they fed off each other like a virus.  I was tormented and suffocating in my own body.  They were eating me alive. These traumas/wounds were all hidden behind my mask, ME -  In Public.

For ME – In Public, I used the color yellow, which says “bright, happy, joyful”.  I let the public believe I was all of those things. I used bright shiny diamonds in my eyes to show I was full of life & happiness, with rosy red cheeks & a big smile.  I used sparkling diamonds, a colorful patch with love/hearts & beautiful flowers growing from my head to show I was someone who loved herself, was surrounded by love, was positive & confident, planting only positive thoughts in my mind, like fresh flowers blooming.  The big pink bow to add a little jazz, I finished it off with a nice white ribbon, a final attempt to reiterate to the world that I was all of these happy, positive things, all wrapped up in a nice package.