My personal journey with Anorexia has been painful. At times I feel myself listening to the voice that wanted me to look thinner. Ignoring that voice inflicts deep wounds that require tremendous energy to heal. This energy is running thin. Energy that I don’t have to spare. Seeking help from a nutritionist and therapist helped me understand that eating wasn’t just feeding my body it was surviving.

As a painter, I immerse myself in art to heal and come to terms with my past. A central component of my series of oil paintings is the participation of others battling with eating disorders and/or body dysmorphia. During photoshoots with each participant, I staged scenes to highlight the constant act of questioning one’s own thoughts on body image and well-being. Using paint, I render survivors realistically and in great detail, while deliberately leaving the background more undefined, alluding to the uncertainty and unpredictability of this disorder.

This series expresses for me the power of human connection and the ability to voice one’s truth through the medium of art. Through this process, I have better understood my own struggles and how they adversely affected my mental health. Somedays the voice is quieter. I choose the healthy version of myself. I choose to survive.

In summer 2023, Mairen exhibited her work in the “Explorations” show at the YAA Gallery, Merrill Memorial Library.