Unlearning an uninvited sensory language, 2022

OCAD U, Thesis Exhibit

"Unlearning an Uninvited Sensory Language" explores trauma's physical imprint and the body's remarkable capacity for resilience. Through an installation of masks and paper dolls, the artist translates experiences that exist beyond verbal expression, particularly those of sexual violence and profound loss. The work reframes trauma not merely as an unwelcome inhabitant of the body, but as a complex presence that has shaped the artist's growth and survival.

Drawing from auto-ethnographic methodology and arts-based research, this exhibition and accompanying master's thesis investigate the nuanced process of healing. By materializing lived memories into tangible objects, the artist creates a new vocabulary for understanding trauma – one that acknowledges both the weight of pain and the persistent human capacity to bloom amid darkness. The work proposes that healing lies not in erasing trauma's imprint, but in transforming how we carry its presence.