Throughout my art school experience, I spent my time striving to be as talented as those around me. It felt as though I was behind in a race and I was constantly sprinting to catch up. It wasn’t until recently that I stopped, took a breath, and looked around me. I got into this field because I was tired of feeling like I had no voice, so I started exploring subject matter that I wouldn’t have dared to venture into beforehand. I started to explore the uncomfortable, while I was traveling down this path, I learned that I had something to offer. I didn’t need to be creating the same things that my peers were creating - I could create what spoke to me.

BONES is a work that urges people to feel uncomfortable, moved, and close to victims of sexual assault. Extreme closeups of the subject’s hair, limbs, and face are shadowed, keeping the subject close, but unidentified. These are utilized to create a closeness to the character while still keeping them anonymous, this urges the audience to understand how victims of abuse feel on a day to day basis. Sex is arguably the most personal thing that they could participate in, and it happened to them without their consent.

It is said that every 73 seconds an American is sexually assaulted. Awareness is growing in the world we live in today, but it is still ignored by many of those around us. Through this project, I urge the community to place themselves in the shoes of the survivors and to change the stigma around sexual abuse. There are many issues within our world, but if this project helps one person, it will be considered a success. No one should have to be afraid to be alive or to use their voice.