My Blog

 Our world is on edge. We are faced with wars, food and water shortages, health epidemics, human trafficking, racism, homophobia, and homelessness. These issues can also affect us in our daily lives, and on top of it, we might be dealing with violence, drug and alcohol abuse, neglect, and the ache of loneliness. The list of our wounds is long and overwhelming. 

Humans have been on Earth for close to 200,000 years and yet so much of our suffering has not been sufficiently solved. When we move through our lives not looking at issues or wounds, some of which have been passed on from generation to generation, we remove ourselves even further from solving our problems. The fact is, whether we want to see it or not, in each of us there are wounds. We carry emotional scars from trauma, abuse, abandonment, and fear. Some wounds are deeper than others, but all result in suffering. These wounds, if ignored, manifest in transmuted ways. When we are caught in denial, and refuse to look within, we cannot heal. 

The Dark and The Wounded series is not only about the consequences of our unacknowledged pain. It is about being aware that we all suffer. Through acceptance, we can become more compassionate, towards ourselves and others, and we can heal our wounds.The paintings in this series are reflective of some of the dark and wounded times in human history as well as from my own life experience. I wanted to touch on the fears we have by looking inward. Working on this series has helped me to heal. It is my hope it does the same for you. Choosing a location for this exhibit was a challenge, as I wanted to show these paintings in an environment that is representational of the dark and the wounded aspect of life. In North American society, we tend to hide from our fears. We put thoughts, feelings, and even people that trigger fear in us, neatly out of sight so we cannot be reminded of their existence. The buildings that the exhibitions take place in  are those places. They are places where we have kept secrets and buried pain. 

Thank you for taking the time to look at my project and film and in participating in this unique exhibition of my work. And thank you for allowing yourselves to enter the darkness.....seeing the wounds...... and for the possibility of creating an opportunity to heal. 

- James Picard