Alexandra Cumiskey, Lingering Past, 2020.
Dimensions: 8’ x 6’
Oil on Canvas
This oil painting reflects on the ongoing struggles a sexual assault victim faces within their daily lives. After experiencing any form of sexual assault, a person is constantly confronted with that occurrence. The stigma that surrounds the topic makes it difficult for individuals to seek help and cope with their situation, leading to forms of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and so on. Although there has been improvement in erasing the ‘shame’ factor in modern-day society, there are still individuals who are unable to speak up about it. These elements are shown within this work, as young woman begins to walk into an alleyway alone where there are several shadow-figures awaiting her arrival. The shadows represent the constant presence of fear within a person, as past encounters of sexual assault. The idea of feeding into fear is presented, as a person can walk deeper into it or choose to turn around. Although the solution of turning around appears to be simple, the painting attempts to depict the difficulties of moving past a traumatic experience as one feels constantly surrounded with shadows. The light buildings and dark sky simulates a ‘dream like’ atmosphere, referencing that even in environments that appear safe and pleasant, such as a dream, a victim struggles to escape their reality. This also includes individuals who have had access to help, as there will always be some form of a lingering shadow following them where ever they go. The viewer can perceive these shadows in different ways, whether it is sexual assault, abuse, mental illnesses, physical disabilities, etc. Every person is constantly faced with a form of fear, and individuals need to come together as a community to erase all stigmas in order to take the power away from their shadows.