Kia Kaha (Be Strong)

Powerlessness. Devastation. Turmoil. Torment.

The central figure stands powerless against what is happening within her. She is barely holding on, restrained by invisible bonds she feels unable to break. She watches herself slipping away, yet feels helpless to stop it.

The figure on the left has dissolved. She can no longer fight. She no longer recognises herself. She has been stripped bare - nothing is left but emptiness.

The figure on the right embodies torment, anger and fear, yet she continues to fight to hold herself together. She feels herself disappearing, silently screaming as her identity slips further from reach.

This work is inspired by traumatic seizures and the psychological aftermath that ensues.  It recognises the suffering that so many people endure through invisible illness and trauma. Society often tells us to “be strong,” as though strength is measured by how well we hide our pain. But true strength is something quieter.

Real strength is enduring when you feel completely lost. It is surviving when you feel as though you are being torn apart. It is holding on when your mind and body no longer feel like your own.

Kia Kaha is a reminder to search for the smallest thread of light within yourself, however faint its voice may become. Through the fog, the heaviness and the dissociation, there remains a place where the soul remembers who you are. Hold onto that place. Let it guide you forward until, piece by piece, you find your way back to yourself.

120(w) x 150(h) x 4cm