Disintegral: Dissociation in Pen & Ink Drawings

How often do you question your existence or the existence of others? Can we ever feel completely certain of the external world (or even our own inner world)? The following visual art series, “Disintegral,” focuses on the alienating effects of dissociative disorders, in which the sufferer feels fragmented, solipsistic, and unreal. “Disintegral” focuses on this fragmentary feeling through a series of pen and ink drawings.

Freight

This piece deals with the fragility of the face we present to the world. We so often cover our true feelings with a happy or carefree façade that hides pain beneath it.

Saturn

This piece deals with the ways in which depression, anxiety, and the habits formed out of trauma tend to trap us. As I child, I struggled with repetitive thought loops associated with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and this feeling is encapsulated here.

Tears

This piece represents the journey that tears take us on. It deals with the ways in which owning up to our own sorrow might lead us down a path to a new way of living life.

Emily Rankin was born in Riverside, California and attended university in Abilene, TX where she received a BFA in 2011. Her body of work ranges from Graphic Design and Scenic Painting to collaborative performances with Verstehen, an interactive series which incorporates synesthesia, live painting, sound, and electronics. She is currently based in New Mexico. eerankinart.com