The Truth is My Name

My current series, “The Truth is My Name” is a symbolic depiction of the unraveling of inner truth sparked by the #Metoo movement. A pervasive culture of sexual violence, and discrimination against women and decades of hidden societal norms, are finally being exposed openly by many brave survivors.  Like many of the victims of these gender biased culture wars, the events of the last few years brought up dark memories that needed to come out and to the surface.  In a world filled with toxic discourse, to people rise up shamelessly in their personal power, has been the most inspiring time in my artistic life. The end game for this series of paintings and drawings is to ride on this invigorating wave of truth, heal the past through creative expression and share in the beauty of this collective transformation.

I have always been drawn to shapes of the floral figure as a symbol of the power of the feminine. In Buddhist tradition, the Lily flower is a symbol of courage and the expression of aggressive female emotions. In Greek mythology, Goddess Hera is said to have created the lily flower in a passionate expression of rage by spraying her breast milk to the heavens, which in turn, rained beautiful white lilies on to the earth. In many religions the lily is a symbol of fertility and resurrection. In some traditions, the lily is believed to have medicinal properties that cure diseases such as depression and toxicity.

The creative process started four years ago, with a personal commitment to daily observational journal writing, along with repetitive drawing of the lily figure. I decided to start with charcoal to symbolize the expression of dark pent up emotions. The drawings eventually morphed into loose, explosive and emotional paintings that symbolize the unraveling of dark emotion into the beauty of transformation. I chose to focus strictly on the lily figure as a symbol my fidelity to the courageous female archetype within all women and that have the courage to express truthful and authentic emotion.

As survivors continue to come forward and tell their stories, more paintings flow out of me (much like Hera’s expression of rage that rained beauty onto the earth). While creating this intuitive painting series, I feel like I have become one with the lily, its powerful symbolism, its transformative nature and its sensual, lyrical lines. In borrowing the bold language of the lily flower to heal and express a collective pain, I feel I have experienced a renewed and authentic voice.