The Abbreviated History of White Women 2000 42" x 44" Oil on Canvas

I was watching a documentary on a wild boar in Indonesia. If they live long enough, the boar's tusks grow into its skull and kill it. I thought this was a good metaphor for how women are raised to swallow their feelings, to have few outlets for their emotions. I think if one keeps all these emotions inside, they could literally or figuratively kill. My painting explores some of the cultural baggage that brings us to this point. In the foreground the woman's baby reaches out to her to show that our decisions affect future generations as well. The ground is littered with breast memorials. In energy medicine approach breast cancer comes from not nurturing oneself- often meaning nurturing everyone but oneself.