Inside or Outside

70.5 x 70.5 cm
Acrylic collage on canvas

Children who have experienced violence sometimes withdraw into themselves, they dissociate and sometimes lose contact with the outside world. There are many triggers: fear, stress, being overwhelmed, but also triggers. Perceiving, feeling, touching, even tasting, hearing, smelling are restricted or no longer connected to their sensations.
Am I inside or outside? In the here and now or in the past? What just happened? What happened? Where am I? When am I?
These are not conscious decisions, but survival strategies.