Portfolio

Art that heals the soul

Am I? Series

When I was a teenager, I had a bad dream. When I woke, the feeling of being terrified of my mind would not leave me. It took a good while before I got over the dream and tried to forget it entirely. But after a few months, those thoughts returned, and I felt paralysed in fear. I found myself not being able to fall asleep without having anxiety attacks. I could not connect with other people my age and ended up completely secluding myself because I felt crazy. The worst feeling of all was that I felt alone. I believed that no one could truly understand what I was going through or, worse, I would be judged and ostracised in the school I was in at the time. It was not until I started therapy that I realised that I was not alone and that other people struggled with the same things I did. As it turned out, I had OCD that had developed into depression. After that experience and getting better, I relied on art to convey how I felt, and I hope that it connects with other people to know that you are never alone in these experiences.

Identity

Most people draw their identity from their culture and heritage. However, it would be 'complicated' if I had a word to describe my identity. Born in Australia but moved to Denmark when I was seven years old, and I first came back to Australia 14 years later. Two very different countries and cultures. When I was in Denmark, I was asked when I would move back to Australia because they did not think I would stay (which they were right). On the flip side living in Australia, people ask me where I am from, hearing my unique accent. So, on the one hand, I am considered an Aussie; on the other, I am deemed Danish. My identity is a persona of living in between, either-or, and nowhere. For the most part, I embrace it as I am the nowhere girl.