PAIN

Rain is a ledger art painting* and is one of 12 pieces in Pain to Power, a digital art series that intimately chronicles the journey my twin sister and I endured as survivors of child sex trafficking. 

The rain symbolizes dark, heavy, and emotionally weighted periods—moments of sadness and reflection.

Its form also draws from Native American symbolism, part of a rich and diverse visual language used by hundreds of Indigenous nations to express spiritual beliefs, history, and deep connections to the natural world through elements, forms, and patterns.

“Pain” confronts the suffocating fear and violence that silenced our voices and impacted our minds and bodies, leaving lasting effects of complex PTSD.

“Power” reflects our path toward freedom, self-discovery, and ongoing healing. Our strength is not defined by what we endured, but by the resilience we carry forward in spite of it.

*Ledger art refers to nineteenth-century Plains Indian drawings created on pages of ledger or account books. Often made by warriors, these works recorded personal histories of battle, honor, and daily life, blending visual storytelling with oral tradition. Some of the most well-known examples were created by imprisoned Cheyenne, Kiowa, and other Plains men at Fort Marion (1875–1878), documenting both their past lives and their experiences in captivity.

I chose this medium to reflect my time in captivity and the healing that followed decades later.