Chanel Peng

Title: Barred
Medium: Ink Illustration on Line Paper
Dimensions: 250 mm x 190 mm
Year Created: 2020

Artist Statement:

This piece is from the series “Art I made while Mentally Institutionalized”. This piece is linked deeply to my body dysphoria. I don’t really like to draw genitals when depicting the self because of it. This came from a day filled with restless dissociation and just me mindlessly filling the bars with questions as to what really is reality and my physical form. Is who I am really what’s on my skin outside and what peeks from under the scrub (I was very uncomfortable in the psych unit because I was not allowed to have a bra because of the wires and it made me so exposed and brought forth my assigned gender very loudly) It is so hard to focus on personal healing when the institution you are seeking care from does not seem very prepared for trans patients and so how do we get to heal?