Sarah
Participatory Portrait
She was
fat
Sarah’s story begins with school bullying, but it did not end there. The harm followed her into adulthood, shaping her mental health, her body and the course of her life.
Sarah was bullied relentlessly at school: for being fat, for being a goth, and even for playing the drums. The impact was so severe that she had to leave school, and by 13 she wanted to end her life.
She completed her GCSEs at home, studying by herself. At 19 she went on to university, but after her first year a back injury left her bedbound for years. She has lived with chronic pain since the age of 20 and has not been able to hold down a job because of it. Sarah feels the damage done to her as a child reached far beyond the school gates, affecting both her mind and her physical health.
She is 36 now and still has nightmares about school. But she is not only what was done to her. She describes herself as kind, funny and, in her own words, “a bloody badass.” Her spirit, despite everything, has not been broken.
THE DESTRUCTION
Deep Cuts
About the Work
2026
Acrylic on canvas
For Sarah’s altered portrait, I sliced through the lower part of the canvas to reflect the damage left by sustained bullying and the lasting impact it had on her health. I used hot glue on the reverse to hold the cut sections in place so they remain ruptured and flexed outward, leaving visible tears running through the work.