‘An apology to her’
is a life-sized soft sculpture self portrait of my own
body, made from fabric matched to my own skin tone, that explores the
profound disconnection between mind and body that occurs through trauma.
Constructed from cloth, a material associated with care, comfort and
domestic labor, the work transforms the body into something both tender
and unsettling. The softness of the fabric contrasts with the weight of its
subject, relfecting the tension between the bodys vulnerability and the
pschyes need to detach for survival.
In experiences of sexual abuse, the body becomes a site of betrayal, estranged
from the self that inhabits it. Through dissociation, the mind retreats to
protect itself, leaving the body behind as an object. Hollow yet heavy with
memory. This sculpture embodies that separation: a physical form emptied of
presence, a skin without consciousness. By replicating my own skin tone, I
confront the intimacy of identification and the discomfort of exposure. The
work invites viewers to witness the quiet aftermath of trauma, not the act
itself, but the enduring fragmentation that follows, and the ongoing
effort to stitch oneself back into being.