Acrylic on Plywood (96cm x 106cm) - White framed

Words, he’s got you believing you’ll never be more than those words You’re so far down you think their all that you deserve He tells you you’re stupid and he makes you feel so small But remember they are all just words.

This song came along after years of healing work around emotional abuse. Coercive control is something I have lived through and survived. The experience has made me extremely passionate about helping women free themselves from domestic violence and urging them to find their voice and use it. The song is an emotional conversation between a girlfriend and the victim experiencing the cruel words. I painted this from a slightly different angle, starting with layers and layers of muted colours, as if they’d lost their vibrancy. Then I tried to access all the anger I’d felt at times when I didn’t have a voice and projected it at the plywood. It was a frantic, aggressive explosion. It can be scary to take your power back, but then comes relief.