Trichotillomania
“Trichotillomania”
Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
12x12”
2022
PLEASE NOTE: This piece will be at the Thom Hindle Gallery (Dover, NH) from October 12th through November 13th. It will not be available for shipping or delivery until November 20th. Thank you!
When I’m not making paintings of adorable animals, my work focuses greatly on mental health and its physical manifestations. This piece is about something I’ve struggled with for 14 years now, called trichotillomania. It’s not dissimilar to the habit of nail-biting or other body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), but it is more uncommon. It’s usually brought about as a way of coping with a great deal of stress and can affect eyelashes, eyebrows, hair on the scalp, or anywhere that hair grows.
I asked my followers on TikTok for a cold read on this piece and got interpretations ranging from “made me think of when I forgot I had lash extensions and rubbed my eye so hard this is what I looked like after”, to folks disclosing childhood trauma and how they would pull out their lashes while making desperate wishes to be saved from their abuse. And of course, anyone with trichotillomania immediately had the same interpretation of this piece as I have.
That’s the beauty of art, a million people can see the same thing and it will bring about an entirely different response for every individual. No one is more “right” than the next, they’re all valid. Man, I love connecting with folks in this way.
Shipping not included
Free local pickup available, local drop off available for a fee
Original artwork by Rebecca Lane
Return Policy and Artists Rights
Original artwork is sold "as is". Changes or customizations will not be considered unless otherwise listed. Any damage to the painting after it has left the studio is not the artist's responsibility (though repairs can be discussed for an appropriate fee). All sales are final.
While the purchaser of the original piece owns the physical work itself, the artist maintains the right to the visual and intellectual property of the work and can sell prints and items with images of the artwork indefinitely, as well as the intellectual property of the story behind the work. The purchaser of the painting does not have the right to make or sell replications of the work, or to profit off of the work in any form other than resale of the original painting.