Seeing through Darkness

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About

Come along on a journey of finding peace in hard situations and witness how the art emerges with you, from light in the darkness, to darkness in the light. Check out a visually immersive, gallery exhibition showcasing 50+ collages that tell a story of overcoming debilitating chronic physical and mental health conditions, generational trauma, and the strength and freedom that comes with healing.

Participate in a collective collage where you can paste pre-cut images and text blurbs to a board that will become one giant collage. Illuminate your night as you take what you felt during the exhibit and bring it together with your community. Take inspiration from a specially curated playlist in the background of the specific songs that inspired the displayed collages.

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Organizer

Daniela Anderson

Welcome to my story of resilience. I am a 24-year-old woman born and raised in Winnipeg. Creative outlets have always been an important and consistent coping mechanism for me. From frequently attending local concerts and events in Winnipeg's art scene, my love for music began at age 4 when I began learning piano. I was heavily involved in my high school concert band and wind ensemble which taught me how to listen intently and tell a story without any words. Since grade 6, I found solace in creative writing and found an inner glow only creatives know. What started as writing about magical kingdoms turned into dreaming about love and grew into an outlet for me to remember significant moments and cope with life’s hurdles. My love for writing grew into a career in content marketing where I was able to achieve my dream job while battling debilitating physical and mental health struggles which then grew into collaging to process them when I started addressing my traumas.

Since I was an infant, I have suffered from extreme itching, eczema, and intense allergies that prohibited me from doing normal activities like sitting on the grass, enjoying the spring blooms, the heat of summer, or going to friends’ houses who had pets. As I grew older, my allergies grew worse and worse and spiraled into an entirely different monster. I developed multiple debilitating chronic health conditions and was a medical anomaly for many years. There are no words to describe the pain I went through. The gravity of it all. The fear, the pain, the itching, the pleading for anything to make it stop, the helplessness… the despair. I didn’t get relief until March of 2021. All of this led to dermatillomania (skin picking) and anxiety which then spiraled into depression and trichotillomania (hair-pulling).

In November of 2021, I participated in a focus group for women aged 18 to 30 who experience chronic illness where we were instructed to make a collage that represented our time as a patient. Only after sharing my story with the women in the study, did I realize that I had seriously suppressed and minimized my experiences to cope. With leftover supplies and a pile of National Geographic magazines from the "buy nothing" group in my neighbourhood, I began creating more and more pieces.

Through collaging, I have been able to access painful memories that other parts of my brain were protecting me from feeling which ultimately lead me to a C-PTSD and dissociative disorder diagnosis. As I partake in the heavily grueling (but very effective) EMDR therapy, I have been creating more collages which help me process the pain I have endured and ultimately have helped me see how I have seen through darkness.

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