Vivisection

“There’s a lot of pain in this piece yet I really enjoy the small details, such as the hands coming out of his head grasping on to the pins, he’s unable to let him self free no matter how much he wants. The eyes around his crotch are similar to cuts, and his exposed stomach and guts feels like being turned inside out. The meaning of all my art is up to interpretation, but I wanted to express sexual trauma. I thought drawing a vivisection – the practice of operating on a live animal –  would show the cruelty and how it feels to have everything stripped from you. . . . . I feel like due to trauma you can become desensitized or detached and so while he isn’t crying his body is crying for him. Sometimes the animals will survive, although they will either be killed or used again for another experiment. I question what’s more merciful, is the gift of life worth all that pain, having it done all over again?” – Tegan