DVAA Member since 2023
Lauren Trainer
About:
As an artist, Lauren is fascinated by how much art can teach us about ourselves. Her recent works take inspiration from her experiences in art therapy, trauma therapy, sex work, and draws from her efforts obtaining her degrees. By examining her personal journey in restoring balance, pleasure and safety into her life, Lauren attempts to embrace her vulnerability and transform destructive experiences into creative and healing ones. This healing expression encompasses the struggles of undiagnosed neurodivergence, ADHD, sexual violence and PTSD. Lauren dreams of creating a safe space for all victims of abuse. That they too can find expression and a voice within her artwork. Be it through drawing, painting, photography, costume, dance or installation, her endeavors to create art with impactful messages remains the same. Her advocacy for a brighter and safer future sits at the forefront of all her works. She thanks you for her being witness as she reclaims her body, her creativity and her voice.
Artist Statement:
I was born an artist. I was also born a bisexual, undiagnosed neurodivergent female in a world with many barriers. And, yes, I was bullied. Even in places I called home. There are plenty of things that I am afraid of, but i’m not afraid to try something I have never done before in order to capture a part of myself or a moment in time exactly the way I feel it should be shown. With this technique I may have mastered little to nothing, but the healing powers of neuroplasticity can come more easily when paired with new experiences. I am constantly surprised by the unique ways in which each medium I use can reveal an underlying biopsychosocial pattern or internal connection that can teach me more about how I have been storing or processing a memory or emotional response. While deeply entranced by my studies in neuroscience, clinical psychology and foreign languages, I was deeply distracted from all of what I needed to heal from. Namely, when someone enters your intimate space uninvited, everything can get distorted. Not only within relationships but within yourself. Practicing exercises to overcome imposter syndrome by physically bringing my art to life has unlocked parts of me that have been silenced or non-verbal. Each piece of art that I create is organic evidence of my growth that I can feel and remember, serving as part of a tangible timeline which helps to ground me as I heal in an all but linear fashion.The agency I now feel brings tears to my eyes while the safety I'm building brings peace. Now, clarity and acknowledgement through my process can bring closure so that I may continue to grow. Transparency and authenticity are really important to me. With my art, I am exposing the truths of my reality. With my art, I'm not masking. With my art, the parts of me that can’t speak in any other way get to be free and therefore, so do I. My art is what healing looks like for me and I aim to continue to grow so that I may also help and inspire others to discover what healing looks like for them.
