Mackerel

The relationship between trauma and the bearer of it is a fascinating study to this artist. Having gone through extreme hardships of their own, the artist hopes to connect to their trauma and visually represent it in a way that reflects their deepest feelings. Being a person who had always kept their hardships to themselves, the artist is now attempting to share their art to have their story heard. While the topics they cover are heavy, they often use humour to show these ideas mainly by using animals as representations of themselves.  

The work they have shown here is a representation of the hopelessness felt when in such a traumatic situation. Relating to their personal struggle of long-term abuse, being consistently faced with pain and fear. Linocut seemed the best way to portray these feelings in this work, because of the sharpness and the stark contrast of this medium. The process of carving is another factor of choosing linocut, the artist feels as though a labour intensive piece is the only way to truly show the struggle they have been through. In creating this they feel as though they have shared a piece of their trauma with like-minded people, and are therefore less burdened by it. 

Instagram Account: mackerel.artist