The Climb

This vision came to me as I was pondering my trauma recovery journey. I assembled her by repurposing dolls, cigar boxes and magazine images I found in the magic attic. I enjoyed reimagining the doll parts, adorning each box, and connecting everything together. The bottom level represents naïveté. It’s super sparkly and surrounded by sweetness, distracting the viewer from the glaring exposure at its center. The central box represents living with unresolved trauma. I made it as unappealing as possible, glueing creepy crawlers and spider webs inside. The top level represents the struggle to pull everything below it up to the surface where healing can begin.