An art project about leaving the roles

This fall we received a fairly abstract request to donate products for an upcoming art project. Without knowing very much the facts, it felt strong and important. When it’s right and it’s right. It hidden between the lines, feels the tone of the sentences, in the energy as you read. Everything within us said yes, the gut feeling, heartbeat and impulses.

We sent our Annie and flowers tattoos to Caroline.
The result was outstanding.

An art project about the four roles that children of addicts often take on. In a home where alcohol is constantly present, it is common for children to take on roles to manipulate the environment to think that everything is as it should, but also to curb their own anxiety. These roles are unconscious survival strategies to achieve some kind of balance in existence and create predictability. Family life becomes like a play where everyone can replicate. The children abandon themselves and adapt. Roles are more or less found in all families but they are more prominent where there is a chemical dependency. The learned behaviors shape the person and there is a risk of becoming trapped and remaining in their role. The child then needs help getting out of it.

The purpose of the project is to highlight the problems with these roles through image. The pictures are created as fairy tale images, they hold a child’s perspective without ducking for the serious. Caroline gives the viewer hope that it is possible to release the armor, break patterns and leave the roles.

This is the Clown, the chronic joke that can’t be serious or let anyone in close. She keeps her distance by pulling on the clown mask, spitting and mocking the problems. Read more here. (in Swedish)

Below the Hero. Perfect, helpful and high performance. She does her homework on time and feels loved for what she does, not who she is. Read more here. (also in Swedish)

This is the Rebel, the scapegoat identified as a failed person. The stereotype of how the ignorant society believes that children of addicts behave. Read more here.

Don’t know if it was the picture or text that got the ground rocking. But it rocked. So painful, heartfelt and important. Bravo Caroline for doing this. When purchasing the HERO, CLOWN, REBELL and/or TAPETBLOMMAN, 10% of the proceeds go to the organization Maskrosbarn, Sweden’s largest organization for young people growing up with parents who have an abuse or mental illness.

Lastly, the bitter sweet interpretation of the Wallpaper Flower, whose role is to be as quiet and quiet as possible so that the surroundings do not suspect that something is wrong at home. She is invisible, shy and neglected. Pulls away and does not want to be a nuisance or in the way. The wallpaper flower is not noticed but hears and sees everything. She becomes a flower in the wallpaper. Buy and/or read more here.

Thank you Caroline, that we got the chance to be a small, small part of your fantastic project with tattoos for the interpretation of the Wallpaper flower. Caroline can also be found on Instagram and this week on Fotografiska’s instagram.