Rhian Swain
When Rabbit…

Acrylic
Based on When Rabbit Howls by Truddi Chase

I read “When Rabbit Howls” when I was a teenager, and it was the first time I encountered a story that made me understand that I wasn’t alone in the “betrayals” I’d experienced as a small child. The book provided hope and a realization that it is possible to move beyond abuse and define oneself on our own terms. In the painting the mask is both a comfort and an obstacle to be overcome. The faces in the background represent the chaos of the internal world/voices and external world/voices.