ChrisTina Andersen, a multidisciplinary artist and educator focuses upon themes of hope, healing and transformation exploring connections between creation with specific intention and its effects upon healing the destruction trauma leaves in its wake. Reorganization of matter in unexpected ways reclaims the discarded; shines light upon the scars hidden by shame and asks questions surrounding the intrinsic value of an idea, a thing, a space,… a life. 

She examines these ideas through meditation, prayer, writing, drawing, painting and sculptural installation. 

“So much is broken and discarded around us. We step over trash, furniture and people on the street every day. What if the materials seen as waste and left to decompose in a landfill or a forest could be repurposed to create something new? I take great satisfaction in collecting the bulk of my materials from dumpsters, recycling bins, forests and the roadside.“ 

To see sparks of possibility in the highly unlikely is one of the driving forces behind her work. As a survivor of sexual abuse and cancer, the reclaiming of self and discovering collateral beauty amid the rubble has been a life long pursuit. Scars are proof that healing has occurred and evidence that healing is also possible for others! 

“I make work for people who are asking questions about why we go through things so difficult they destroy us and is healing possible? It’s my desire that perhaps my work will bring hope to others, to know they are not alone and that healing is possible.”

 This journey of transformation and art making is as much about the process as it is about arriving at the destination.