Shedding My Former Self

Dalena Huynh

Since I was young, I’ve struggled with mental health issues and felt isolated from my family and peers. There are traumatic internal conflicts within my mind, which affect my mentality. These conflicts are intertwined and I don’t think it strays far from my work. Through my work, I want to spread healing through relatability. I want to spread conscious awareness of the stigma around seeking help. Shedding my Former Self is abject art, which includes the fluids coming out of the head, and the fact that the head is grotesque and splitting open. The person is obviously in emotional and physical distress. It shows the realistic side of mental illness. In society and social media, mental illness and depression can be romanticized such as the self-harming portrayed on popular teen shows. These romanizations can trigger trauma for those going through actual depression. This leads to more stigma and makes mental illness seem less serious and brushed aside. The head is representational and the figure coming out of the head is abstract. Using a body, mental illness is cast off. The artwork represents a former shell of self where the person screams in pain as if they are shedding out of their former self and becoming reborn. The work is meant to show the process of healing. The sculpture is texturized and rough in certain parts that are cracking, this illustrates the inner turmoil of the individual. This work is androgynous and recognizable but is also slightly abstract. If people are too focussed on gender, then they can’t relate to it in the sense that they themselves cannot understand.

During my process, I found making the sculpture therapeutic, but at the same time, it triggered some trauma. I want to take this trauma and help other people who have gone through depression and similar situations to spread awareness and create a connection. My art may provide comfort or discomfort to those who understand or to those who are learning about mental illness. The journey is painful but eventually, you get to some form of closure.