Sasha
Participatory Portrait
She was
a bad friend
Sasha was harmed by someone she trusted, then lost much of her friendship group when she quietly removed herself from the situation. Even while frightened and hurt, she was still trying to protect everyone else from the fallout.
Sash was sofa-surfing when a male friend offered her somewhere to stay. She trusted him, but over time he began pushing sexual boundaries and introducing things she did not want. Eventually, Sash describes being assaulted.
She arranged for a friend to collect her belongings while he was at work. Even then, she apologised for leaving and blamed her mental health rather than telling him what he had done. She initially kept what happened from their wider friendship group because she did not want to hurt him or tear the group apart.
Instead, Sash was removed from the group chat and portrayed as the person who had behaved badly. One message described the way she had handled things as “disgusting.”
She lost much of her friendship group and spent more than a year questioning herself. Eventually, one friend came back and apologised.
THE DESTRUCTION
Shunned
About the Work
2026
Acrylic on canvas
The altered portrait centres on the words “WE’RE GOOD FRIENDS…” painted across Sash’s mouth.
The phrase reflects the way friendship became part of the pressure placed on her, while its position across her mouth represents how much she silenced herself afterwards to protect other people. Around it sit the accusations that followed when she finally removed herself from the situation.