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Visible & Judgeable vs. The Invisible Reality; Mixed media (acrylic paint & leather); 20 x 27.8 x 2.6″

$3000 (negotiable) – Artist will donate proceeds to brain injury non-profits

Image Description:

Mixed media creation. The top half of the art piece has an icicle-like border of white streaks reaching inwards. In front of tones of blue, a woman’s head can be seen smiling flipped upside down. The bottom half of the art piece has a black border which splatter fades into streaks of many different colours. Over these, the woman’s face can be seen, but the smiling face at the top has split open to reveal the same woman now in anguish. Her hands grab at her exposed brain which appears to be shattered. This artwork was designed to be flipped and show the two sides.

Story behind Visible & Judgeable vs. The Invisible Reality

See a .pdf of the artist description, HERE.

Visible and Judgeable vs The Invisible Reality shows the 2 sides of brain injuries.

The perception YOU have based on what YOU can SEE & the reality that is INVISIBLE to you.

It was challenging to create this piece, as I didn’t think a side-by-side view would have shown what I am trying to communicate.

An art piece that spins, is kind of like the 2 sides of a coin, and I believe it communicates the same but different better.

There is the calm, the acceptance, the visible & judgeable, the things YOU believe to understand based on your visual comprehension and accepted social norms. However, it doesn’t show you the invisible reality you can’t see, nor understand.

Spin the piece around and you get a glimpse into a normal day for me, where I look “Normal”, “Healthy”, etc. but my brain feels like it is exploding inside a pressure cooker in my head.

I can’t count the amount of times I was told: 

– BUT you don’t look sick/disabled!

– BUT you are TOO YOUNG for that!

– BUT you LOOK great, so OBVIOUSLY you are HEALTHY!

– BUT it’s all just in your head! (Um, … yeah, … that’s where your brain is located.)

– BUT have you tried YOGA? (If you have an invisible disability you likely just laughed, and get exactly what I mean. Yoga can be great, but it’s no cure!)

– and so many more!

I get it, many individuals never had to deal with the challenges of invisible disabilities, and I am happy for them. I sincerely hope they never will have the experience. Canada has a whole month dedicated to Brain Injury Awareness, yet if you ain’t affiliated with anyone in the BI Community you likely never heard about it, as it is a damning silent affair. 

This piece shows the 2 sides. The visible, judgeable, the what society allows us to understand, the expectation based on masses, and the invisible, incomprehensible reality that simply can not be truly understood by anyone but those who lived it.