Professionally printed on Giclee archival matte fine art paper
Made with love using charcoal on paper
 
 
Sometimes our emotions become chains, holding us in places we desperately want to escape. 
Anxiety tells us something terrible is coming. Depression tells us there’s no point in trying to escape. Fear tells us it isn’t safe to move. Guilt keeps us staring backward. And shame whispers that maybe we deserve to stay there. 
 
This piece is about what happens when those voices become so heavy that they stop feeling like emotions and start feeling like restraints. 
 
Each chain represents something different, yet they all pull in the same direction... down. They wrap around the body, cross over one another, and tighten until even the smallest movement feels impossible. Eventually, you aren't just carrying what you feel. You become trapped beneath it. 
 
But there is something important about the figure in this piece: She is still there. Beneath every chain, beneath every thought telling her she is weak, broken, guilty, afraid, or unworthy, there is still a person waiting to stand. 
 
The chains may explain why she cannot move right now. They do not get to decide where she stays.