The Land of Milk and Honey

Abstract

My body of work serves as a form of therapy for me and provides insight into the often-misunderstood world of mental illnesses. A personal struggle is with Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders [OSFED] has informed the pieces discussed below. OSFED is the term utilized to include individuals who do not meet the strict guidelines for anorexia or bulimia nervosa but still have a substantial eating disorder (“Other Specified Feeding”). With this in mind, my practice explores a personal experience with eating disorders. Eating disorders are medically recognized mental disorders and have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness. National surveys estimate that 12% of women and 6% of men in America will develop an eating disorder within their lifetime (“What Are Eating”). It should be recognized that eating disorders can affect anyone, at any age. As an artist, I strive to make work that provides the viewer with a deeper understanding of the mind of someone with an eating disorder.