Art Project

For this project, I decided to bring to life the question “what are the effects of child maltreatment on the victim?” I used this question as a way to bring awareness of how some children may possibly feel when they are counted as a victim of child abuse. ​​

    With this assignment, I visualized a child falling into a dark hole, with only the parent above to help, however, they only push the child further into the hole. In a family, the parent is supposed to support the child and guide them on every level, whether that is supporting them money-wise, giving advice, or being there for them emotionally. Any type of child abuse, physical, emotional, neglectful, or sexual, is characterized by not properly nurturing their children, therefore leaving a lot to be cared for within the child. When the time comes that the child is facing their own issues out in the world, the support system that kids normally have from their parents is not there to aid them when they need it, leaving them alone when their parents should have helped them through, even worsening the situation further by continuing the abuse. 

I was able to create this image, portraying it as a child falling into a massive dark hole, while their father is ignoring them, walking away instead of doing what a parent is supposed to do for them. The parent in question is on a pedestal, to speak to how some abusers could feel, thinking they are better than their children and therefore, giving them the right to maltreat their children. Regarding the way I created these figures, I used book pages to add to the newspaper clippings on the sides to emphasize how far parenting can really go awry. What I wanted to portray to the audience is here, you have a textbook parent and child, but you see them in not-so textbook actions. I did this project to make it sink into viewers how much of a toll child abuse really takes on the victim both mentally and physically.