2022, ink on broken eggshells

Drawing on the myth of Daphne in which she is transformed into a tree to protect her from rape, the Unlignified series addresses issues surrounding identity, assault and survivorship. Lignin is the substance that makes plants woody.  In previous works, the lines of the bodies become laurel branches, hiding and protecting them through erasure. In Unlignified the bodies are clear. The laurel branches spread outwards, following, mirroring, accentuating the lines and curves of the bodies, following creases and muscles. The process of working through past trauma has been akin to removing the lignin from my limbs, of no longer having to become a tree to survive assualt. On the limbs, the laurel branches almost look like tattoos – voluntary marks, painful in their genesis but worn with pride. The eggshells act in sympathy, distorting lines and changing the images and perspective as the viewer moves around them.