Speak of the Object

This series of artworks honor trauma as knowledge. Intergenerational / transgenerational trauma refers to trauma that passes through generations via complex post-traumatic stress disorder mechanisms; a knowledge held, sometimes unconsciously, in the body and a knowledge that can be transferred to others.

In 2010 I started working in and documenting domestic violence shelters in the United States and Italy. By tracking and documenting the objects and structures of our response to inter-personal (IPV) across regions and countries my work exposes the banality and common occurrence of IPV. Images are veiled to convey the unconscious and hidden effects of trauma. Some prints are missing a key layer of CMYK process. I use the multiple, to repeat the urgency of the ceaseless anger of IPV and my embrace of minimal beauty reminds viewers that this damage is divorced from theology, nationality, or class. My prints are also frequently assembled in walls or fields that have a physical presence that convey the weight and enormity of the topic.