"Vigilance" Canvas Print - 18"x24"

About the Art:

Vigilance was created during a cyanotype workshop I hosted for survivors of sexual assault. While guiding others through the process of drawing, exposure, and the light leaving its mark, I found myself thinking about the way trauma imprints the body and mind.

This piece reflects my experience with hypervigilance: the constant scanning, the watchfulness that never fully powers down. A single large eye anchors the composition, surrounded by smaller repeating eyes that echo across the surface. They multiply the way anxious thoughts do: layered, persistent, difficult to silence.

Handwritten text covers the background like an internal monologue:
“I hate being in public spaces.”
“Hypervigilance.”
“Vigilant.”
“Catastrophizing.”
“I hate being alone with people I don’t know.”

The repetition isn’t decorative, it’s cyclical. Trauma often lives in loops. The mind rehearses danger before it exists and even when it doesn't. It prepares, anticipates, and braces.

Cyanotype, with its deep blue tones and ghostlike impressions, felt like the right medium for this exploration. The process relies on light exposure, and in many ways, healing does too!

Vigilance speaks to the exhausting duality of trauma: the desire to feel safe and the constant readiness for threat. It is about being watched and watching.

Canvas print details:

• Canvas Material: Responsibly sourced FSC-certified wood stretcher bars, cotton-polyester blend (300-350gsm, 350-400 microns).
• Thickness: Thick (4cm)
• Size: 18"x24" inches
• Hanging Kit: Included, varies by country.