Battle, Traffic, Grief, Trauma, Resilience & Treasure

Drawing from my collaboration with trafficking survivors, this collection of pieces describes one pattern of experience for a person who has been trafficked, with dragonflies guiding the viewer from piece to piece.  "Battle" in the lower left expresses how each of us has a unique beauty and how life can be a long journey.  "Traffic" in the upper left provides a view into the "Mapping the Demand" research report on trafficking in Minnesota (authored by Lauren Martin and her colleagues at the University of Minnesota).  "Grief" in the upper center represents how we may grasp in the dark for meaning when we experience loss.  "Trauma" in the lower center includes several direct quotes from trafficking survivors regarding the impact of being trafficked.  "Resilience" in the lower right is about the toughness and sheer will survivors and others may have when they rediscover their true self.  Finally, "Treasure" in the upper right is where the trafficking survivors shared the best parts of their lives as girls and sources of strength now.

To see the survivor statements written on "Trauma" and "Treasure", click here.

If you are interested in showing any of my art or partnering in future work, please contact me at tom@witnessarts.org