Art as therapy
Art cultivates introspective awareness, and gaining such an understanding of one’s mind is imperative to any form of healing.
Memories may be repressed, but the scars they leave behind can be psychologically debilitating. Art allows one’s innermost thoughts and feelings to, somewhat unconsciously, rise to the surface, and with the help of a therapist, one can identify the root cause and work to a solution.
That is where the power of art comes into play, and the progression of healing it allows is exactly what Houston artist Justin Garcia, 33, captured in his latest project, “Reflections of Growth” — part of his eighth series of work that studies the human perception of time through the simplicity of aging walls.
The canvas, measuring 15 feet wide and 9 feet tall, marks his first collaboration with the Children’s Assessment Center, one of the largest child-abuse advocacy centers of its kind in the nation that serves nearly 5,000 sexually abused children, from birth to age 17, and their families across Harris County every year. With a focus on complete healing, the center provides a multidisciplinary team approach to prevention, assessment, investigation and treatment.
“Art encourages healing,” executive director Elaine Stolte said. “This wall is a witness to that healing in real time. It was originally a tool for the children and, in the process, has become more than that. It is the voice and testimony of their process. The transitions and growth that are critical to healing after trauma occurs are caught in each brushstroke.”
As with the rest of the series, Garcia stretched the canvas and then alternated between building texture with thick layers of acrylic paint and deconstructing the surface as time would.
“Much like air, you can’t see time directly. It’s the effects it has on objects in space,” Garcia said. “At different parts of the wall’s life, different things have happened, whether it’s Mother Nature or somebody passing by and scraping the wall or writing something they felt.”
He then carved out 14 irregularly shaped sections and remounted them sans the excess canvas using wood braces, so that they float away from the background and therefore blur the lines between reality and creation. The pieces don’t quite match up as a puzzle would. Instead, the final product appears almost like continents among the world’s oceans.
Last April, the segments were transported and reassembled on a wall in the therapy and psychological services wing at the children’s center, and for five months, 32 victims of child sexual abuse used acrylic and oil pastel paint pens to write messages on the wall each time they returned to therapy.
There were no rules. The children were given free rein with regard to content, color, location and size — all choices that reflect upon their thoughts, much like graffiti serves as a personal expression of its artist, Garcia explained. The children’s contributions, in a way, are windows into their souls, through which those involved in the healing process, whether therapists, social workers, investigators, parents or even the children themselves, are able to grasp a better understanding of what they need to move forward.
“In that moment of profound expression, our children unlock the mystery of true health and literally heal themselves by healing others and accepting help from others,” said Lawrence Thompson, director of therapy and psychological services, who oversaw the project with manager of therapy services Claudia Mustafa and art-therapy intern Catherine Moster.
Throughout the process, heart-wrenching words of sadness transformed into new layers of hope, strength, positivity and inspiration with messages such as, “Be strong,” “Don’t be scared to stand up for yourself ” and “You are beautiful.”
“When they come back for therapy again, they get to look at what they wrote and reflect on it,” Garcia said. “That awareness, that instant awareness, of what they wrote and how they feel now after a couple of weeks, it’s a reminder of growth, and that’s extremely important for them to visually see that.”
The reminder will stay with the children even after they complete therapy because of the universal nature of Garcia’s subject. Aging walls are everywhere, and for the children to attach such an omnipresent object to their freeing health, they will always be able to find comfort nearby. The project is purposefully streamlined into their natural environment, Garcia said, which is key to their continued progress.
Even more so, it’s a clear demonstration of letting go, as over time, other children might overlap or cover up another’s work with their own. In this way, it also served as a sort of therapy for Garcia himself, he explained.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever donated anything to this substantial size,” he said, “and the first time I’ve ever let anybody touch my artwork in any sense.”
The artist dedicated the work to his mother, who passed away in September. Always one of his biggest advocates, she committed much of her life to giving back, particularly to charities involving children — a passion that she instilled in her son.
Pieces of “Reflections of Growth” will be auctioned off at the children’s center’s sixth annual “Advocate Through Art Party” on Friday. The hope is for the artwork to be donated back in its entirety to the organization so that it may grace the walls of the center once again, enabling those who participated to revisit the wall but also lifting the spirits of those who are just beginning treatment.
“What we found is that, instead of just expressing how they felt, they transitioned into saying something positive to reflect on the next kid coming through,” Garcia said. “So giving love unconditionally without having to feel like you need to receive it back and then receiving more than you ever imagined. It’s is a great lesson for everybody.”