The little person drawn in this image is my mother. I have a very old photo of her that shows her as a tall, skinny and awkward girl. She looked to be maybe 15 years old in the photo with her 3 sisters. What struck me about the photo is that its one of the only ones where she looked like a real, live person. Most other photos she’s made up nicely and has a mannequin appearance to her. In this one I saw an awkward child that I could actually relate to.
In the art piece she’s dressed as a carrot and is holding a heart. The heart is the false love she gave to me because I ate my vegetables. She was so proud to tell people her daughter was a vegetarian. It made me different and made her the center of attention. This is much like the story Show and Tell where I had something “different” about me that could be exploited for narcissistic gain. Boy did my mother tell as many people as would listen that her daughter is a vegetarian. This time she didn’t seek sympathy, just attention in general. The mother in this art piece is faceless.
Lie, neglect, deny, grieve, shame, belittle, violate, strangle, break, starve, torment, abandon: these lined the fence which kept me prisoner to my home sweet home.
J of A
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