October 6, 2025

Befriending The Shadow

 

Befriending The Shadow, 15"x 20"
monks cloth, yarn, dmc thread, 2024



"One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious " - Carl Jung 


Befriending The Shadow is hand-stitched on monks cloth. I created it using a weaving technique with tapestry needles and yarn as well as using free stitch with embroidery floss. This piece portrays my child self with a large creature inspired by a Tasmanian devil. I got curious about what the animal looks like in real life, because the only idea I had of it was from the Looney Tunes cartoon I watched when I was a kid. For me it's the perfect symbol of the unconscious shadow as a kind of monster because of my association with it as a child. Here, as an adult observer and creator, I retell a story about what it means: the creature appears docile and wears a harness, turning something overwhelming into a being that can be known and even befriended. Each image has a specific meaning, including a staircase that connects the depiction of waking conscious life with the emerging awareness of what's underneath. 


Here's a short poem I wrote about it:


Befriending The Shadow 


you stand at the top of the slide

on the stage with the curtains and the veil 

surrounded by tears made out of stars

that fall into the basement 

like waves 

where the monster lives 

with the fear

and the grief 

and the rage 

and you have always been here 

while the monster waits 

with endless 

patient 

grace 



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