recent works
A Mirror of Dread (Narcissus: The Narcissist’s Mirror)
Ink, high gloss polyurethane on linen on wood panel.
30 x 20 x 5 inches
This work is rooted in the character of Narcissus from Greek mythology, who became consumed by his own reflection. The piece began as a simple text drawing executed in Sumi ink on a linen-wrapped panel. Written in lowercase letters was the phrase:
The words remain beneath the surface and can still be seen under certain lighting conditions and viewing angles, much like the floor of a pond beneath a reflection.
During my recovery, I coated the panel with polyurethane, applying approximately one coat each day. Over time the surface transformed into a black mirror. What began as a text drawing became a reflective object: the pond.
The process was as important as the final image. Each layer marked the passage of time. Recovery accumulated slowly, one day and one coat at a time. The original statement remains present beneath the surface, obscured but not erased. The reflective surface references the myth of Narcissus while simultaneously implicating the viewer, whose own reflection becomes part of the work.
For me, the work emerged from a period spent learning about coercive control, intimate partner violence, and the dynamics of narcissistic abuse. The title and imagery draw upon those experiences, while the process itself became a form of recovery.
The hidden text remains beneath the surface, on the floor of the pond. In the myth of Narcissus, the pond becomes both mirror and trap. The reflective surface presents an idealized image, while the depth beneath contains a reality that remains unseen. This tension between appearance and reality became increasingly relevant as I sought to understand coercive control and the role that image, denial, projection, and self-preservation can play within abusive dynamics.
Like the hidden text beneath the surface, the underlying reality remains present even when obscured by reflection.
Like The Word, A Mirror of Dread employs a suspended panel presented against a larger panel that functions as a wall. Its hanging system draws upon the nineteenth-century picture rail. By incorporating the wall into the artwork itself, I establish its initial context before it enters its final destination, extending authorship beyond the object to its conditions of display.
*Coercive Control. The number 1 weapon of choice for the narcissist.
*Core traits: Exaggerated sense of self-importance, excessive need for admiration, lack of empathy, sense of entitlement, and a preoccupation with fantasies of success and power.
*Knowledge is power. A comprehensive understanding of domestic violence, coercive control and narcissistic abuse.
*Smashing the Narcissist’s Mirror