Tiana Traffas, Suffocation Fatigue
Tiana Traffas (she/her)
Suffocation Fatigue, 2021
Watercolor, acrylic, pencil on paper
11" × 14"
The title of this piece says it all. I feel like I am suffocating under the constant demands of my daughter and the feelings of guilt that consume me. I am overwelmed, emotionally drained and sometimes apathetic or detached. As a mother, I've internalized a culture that demands I bear the brunt of caregiving while it simultaneously devalues my job. The ongoing pandemic has pushed mothers more firmly into domestic spaces and the invisible and emotional labor has become an even heavier burden. The goal of my work is to share the taboos, vulnerability and psychology of motherhood, to highlight what goes unseen and to weave these personal experiences with collective and arcane symbolism.