Graphite on paper, 150 × 200 cm/115 × 150 cm

This diptych examines the lasting effects of narcissistic emotional abuse and how control can quietly reshape the sense of self. Across two large drawings, a solitary figure moves from confinement toward autonomy, yet her posture retains traces of the restrictions once imposed upon her.

The perpetrator is intentionally absent, shifting attention from the source of harm to its ongoing consequences, the ways psychological control lingers long after manipulation ends. The work uses the scale and restraint of graphite to make visible what is often invisible: the internalized doubt, confusion, and loud inner critic left behind.

Dependency and detachment, silence and awareness, the pair reflects the duality of such experiences. The shift in scale of the second drawing mirrors the narrowing of one’s world, while also inviting reflection on what it might mean to expand again, rebuild confidence, individuality and self-love.

Courtesy of IAGA Contemporary Art