Fright, Flight, Freeze, 2024

This is not the view that others see when they look at me. It sits just beneath the surface. I keep it hidden. Trapped within the silence. I am learning to find a voice beyond my paintings. I am learning to put the pieces back together. Stepping out from the shadows. This self portrait tells the story of the every day struggles I go through living with trauma related OCD and PTSD . The conditions that have protected me and helped me survive, but have ruled my every being. It represents the resilience and strength needed to navigate such experiences. By sharing this personal journey, I hope to foster connection and empathy and encourage support for those silently struggling. I hope that it sparks conversations about the importance of talking about our mental health and inspires individuals to seek the support they need to heal and grow. I know that this story is not exclusive to me. I am not alone.

I am a Melbourne based portrait artist, painting in oils, with a love of working in an intimate, small scale. I tell the stories of others through paint and I am learning to have the courage to share my own voice. Since leaving art school in 2015 and establishing myself as an artist I have had a few solo shows and have been a finalist in The Portia Geach, Rick Amor, Naked and Nude prizes and a semi finalist in the Doug Moran Portrait prize.