Generational Healing Through Cyclical Addiction

My Dreams into Action piece, titled Prophecy, is a personal reflection. The mixed-media portrayal demonstrates my dream for breaking the cyclical nature of addiction within my family, and for radical eradication of generationally traumatic effects. I believe in the Prophecy of life, and proliferation for all currently experiencing or being affected by addiction. Formatting my research into an artistic expression allowed me to address suppressed childhood memories, while accepting and representing them in a positive way. Prophecy is a piece of self-expression and self-acceptance from a raw state— indicated through rigid shards of glass. I chose a broken bottle to represent the fragility of isolation. I had experienced so much solitude, depression, and anxiety while I isolated myself and gave into addiction that I felt entirely anew when I reached out for support. I began by painting a void of black, wherein desolation finds one in addiction. Solitude is represented by thick, swirling black clouds. My father's battle against alcoholism has set a fire within me to uplift, change, and disrupt the cycle. Passages and salient phrases from Nicole Nimri's "Self Care is Collective Care is Community Care," line the background of Prophecy, commend the strength of community and dismantling the eclipsed love for lone heroes. Inspiring me to look inward, the phrase "Until our cups runneth over into a spring that nourishes us and creates fertile ground to cultivate the fruits of our future" from Nimri's teachings cultivated realizations that I had been falling into the patterns expressed by my own father. However, Prophecy emphasizes growth in nature and growth in self. Nimri insists "Our bodies know that we must rely on one another," interconnecting human relation with nourishment of the soul. In my own experience, reconnection with the community finally saved me from the depths of addiction. Although fragile, the glass shards create a mosaic of promise and creation. There is hope in addiction, and it can be made into something beautiful. Carmen Gonzalez's guest lecture similarly emphasized the importance of reconnecting with nature and family through the course of addiction. In nature we find solace and connection with Earth, emmenating the purest form of sobriety. Intimate, dainty floral appendages sprout from the shards to indicate perseverance. In creating Prophecy, I have committed to rediscovering myself and my community.