A Halloween Cartoon, A Rug, and A Man at the Door 

The feeling of uncomfort is something in our society that we run away from, but throughout my work I run towards it in the aim of opening conversations primarily about common health issues but through out my capstone I decided to explore what makes me uncomfortable, my family trauma, and doing so I aim to open  avenues of conversation to promote education and understanding about domestic violence and sexual abuse.

 

Most of my childhood is a blank space in which I only remember a rug, a halloween Tom and Jerry special, and someone constantly at my door way. This figure has haunted me for all of my life and into adulthood, I have been running from my boogieman sense since I was a child, but I never knew why and why I was so terrified. 

 

Family trauma is something many people are far too familiar with, weather from domestic violence, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and more. My family is no stranger to family abuse, it has chased everyone in my family, ever lurking like a figure in a horror film. 

 

My boogie man was my father, I had countless nightmares, panic attacks, and general fear of him since I was a young girl. This work explores my memories of my own trauma through the small gaps of memory I have from that time period of my life. I have recreated my memories into a physical form covered in a suspicious red substance. This red infection of space is the disease of trauma and how it has had a hold on my life for so long, controlling everything I do. This space is emulating nostalgia but from a place of fear and complacency, I have decided this fear will no longer control my life and I will wash the red goo from myself. 

 

Who is your boogie man?