Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Burns, Samantha

Area of Concentration

Art

Abstract

Life is full of boundaries which are essential guidelines into developing a healthy personal lifestyle. Healthy interactions between people are the ones where people recognize and respect the boundaries that individuals have. We develop boundaries in as an empathetic response to interactions and as we have experiences they become central to who we are and our own interpersonal relationships. It is these experiences that shape our memory and how we will interact with people in future endeavors. However, in cases of domestic abuse and relationship violence these boundaries have been violated. These experiences become memories which will not be healthy as they will be tainted and traumatic, which is executed through the use of the installation Wounded. An anxiety disorder can manifest within a person after they are exposed to a terrifying event or ordeal in which physical harm occurred or was threatened. Wounded demonstrates a world that is mundane but not healthy. As a person who is abused suffers from anxiety from the subsequent abuse, forcing the audience/participant also experiences an empathic form of this anxiety as they read some of the national statistics for domestic abuse on the adjoining chalkboard from the installation. Approaching the delicate yet controversial subject of domestic abuse, this body of work, Wounded, explores the cultural stigmas of abuse using the semiotics of language, influence, and history of trauma through tainted memories as well as the lasting effects of these experiences. How we use language to discuss trauma can also impact the overall process of how an affected individual can communicate about a trauma, and what coping mechanisms are used to help make the grieving process a little easier. Abuse through tainted memories is displayed through a multidisciplinary installation. “Wounded” is meant to shed light and bring awareness to the issue of domestic violence, specifically highlighting interpersonal relationships and how trauma can have long term effects, whether visible or not on an individual.

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