Gallery - Making art out of trauma

Pictures on my ceiling

(and the wall and door)

 

As human beings, we are first and foremost creators. Our individual creativity is the essence of life. What we create is the only tangible thing that we leave behind when we die. Our life is the canvas, our intention the brush strokes, our emotions the paint. The brain or mind is not where intelligence is found. Creativity seldom makes an appearance in those areas.

 

Galleries 1 - 7 show representations of my artwork collected during different phases of my life, from childhood to the present day.

 

Gallery 1 - Splits of the Soul

Representation of some of the splits of the soul that occurred as a result of trauma-related dissociation.

 

Gallery 2 - Blood, sweat and tears

The red/black period of artistic expression of events re-lived during therapy 

 

Gallery 3 - Skinscapes and bodyscapes

No more writing or drawing on the wall just skinscapes and bodyscapes on my ceiling and on my floor. No more green lanscapes, the art of the body describes it all.

 

Galery 4 - Wall of childhood

The writing and the drawing are on the wall during childhood but not often on the ceiling or on the floor.

 

Gallery 5 - Pictures on my ceiling

Abstract but meaningful images flashing across my ceiling during EMDR and subsequent reprocessing after sessions.

 

Gallery 6 - Maps of the mind

Graphic representations of the changing maps and images of the systems of my subconscious mind.

 

Gallery 7 - A slice of life

Collages made of artwork, photographs and videos of a slice of life studied between October 2011 and March 2012.

 

Jan Filer's artwork

If you want to learn about the context in which my creative artwork developed, my artwork page describes my journey through physical and emotional healing using drawing, photography and prose. 

 

I use the slides to accompany presentations about recovering from trauma. They describe my journey through cancer and the subsequent process of healing not to my former self but to a self that is learning to cope with an unseen disability as a result of my illnesses. The story I present is used to inspire others on their own emotional journeys through life.