The Woundedness of Being Human II | 18 x 20.5 framed
pastel, colored pencil, Irish lienen thread on paper

This piece was created shortly after my oldest sister sustained a brain injury. It affected her executive functioning and left her incapable of tending to herself. Her care and quality of life fell into the hands of all the siblings. Although the seven of us rallied together on her behalf, the injury took its toll on us as a family. This piece was created as I grappled with the grief, the disbelief, the added responsibilities, and the opening of old wounds from the dysfunctional dynamics that often accompanies a large catholic family such as ours.

Although titled the Woundedness of Being Human, it faces the duality that resides in each of us. The duality of being human insists that we sift through the chaos in pursuit of personal truth to discover our unique inner lightness of being. In doing so, we discover the uniqueness of our own humanity. The duality of being human is that we sift through the chaos to recognize our individually and our role in the collective, our impact on the collective consciousness, and our dependency on being part of something greater than ourselves.