GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — An ArtPrize entry at The B.O.B. in downtown Grand Rapids is turning many heads, due to its exposed nature.
The artist is a body painter, and her models are nearly nude.
“This gives us an opportunity to put on display all different issues that maybe people feel uncomfortable talking about, but they need to be addressed,” explained artist Kristen Adams, who created Breathing Body Art: Healing Through Art.
While the lack of clothing may shock some, the purpose of the bold display is to desexualize the matter. In fact, the models who volunteered to participate in this time-based entry all have something significant in common: they’ve all experienced trauma.
The impact of anorexia, child sexual abuse, transitioning genders, and other adversities are all on display during the live daylong painting sessions. Model Laura Henderson spent her day as a human canvas, sharing her pain and triumph of learning how to live with bipolar disorder.