Artwork Found in Issue 5: No Masters!

This is my piece called actual reality! I made it about the end of the German Expressionism and how art contributes to culture. During WW2 when the Nazis were destroying “degenerate art” many artists fought back and retaliated. I reproduced painting made by these artists and also pieces that have been destroyed because of their subject matter, or those who created them. Anyway, it’s really interesting art movement and the stories of the artist who risked their lives to oppose the people trying to silence them is truly inspiring.” ~SB

These two pieces are something of an unfinished series. This first one, titled Fractured, was started on Christmas 2022 after an upsetting event. As an OSDD1b (Other Specified Dissociative Disorder) system, we live day to day life as several individuals sharing one body and mind. As you can imagine, this isn’t always pretty. When working on this first piece, I felt like the character design went against a lot the guidelines I’ve learned for good designs. It feels chaotic, messy, and unattractive. But I didn’t put that design together to be attractive. It feels like the truest self portrait I’ve ever made. It is all of our individual self representations shoved together into one; our anger and pain on display. I showed it to our therapist, introducing it as Creature, the system name we use for all of us. He asked me what Creature would look like after therapy; healed. That question prompted the second piece, titled Whole, started in February 2023. I find it fitting that it stays just a sketch for now. It’s a work in progress, just like we are. It isn’t fully realized, and the end result may look different that how we imagine now. But we’re steadily making progress towards the goal of healing, and feeling whole. ~Creature Collective