Shell

This is an original artwork by the amazing Laurie Lipton that I have 'reimagined'.

I created a layered art approach where some of the masked faces leap from the frame. I decided to place this image into a house frame and entitle it ‘Welcome to the Fun House OR The many faces of an abuser'.

It's like a Fun House Mirror Castle - where no matter where you turn, there are the menacing faces and presences that oppress you, glaring and smirking back.

I added some red Swarovski crystals to some of the mask eyes to reflect the evil nature of those that abuse others, particularly those they profess to care about. I ran lines of sparkling diamantes along the outside of the house frame to symbolise that no matter how fantastic or amazing a relationship or a house seems from the outside, you never know what actually goes on, in the inside of it.

The main character wears a shirt with her own face on it, representing that she is supporting herself, and is her own number #1 fan and that it is from a place of self-love and clarity that you see and acknowledge situations and people for what they TRULY are.

I lined the inside of the house frame walls with reflective copper material to highlight and bounce the images contained within around the frame. Amidst the chaos and demented, menacing faces, the main character remains untouched, possibly through disassociation to simply survive.

And resting beneath it all is the phases of the moon and a Tree of Life symbol which I have added to show the many fluctuations of abuse experienced by victim-survivors, the good followed by the terrible times, a never-ending cycle. The emotional pull these relationships have on so many: as abuse is all that is known, generationally and personally.

The silver skulls that sit on each of the house corners represent the thousands of Australian women and children killed by DV perpetrators and lives lost by DV victims suiciding due to the torment and abuse of DV.