The First Time It Happened I Was Twenty

The First Time It Happened I Was Twenty

In The First Time It Happened I Was Twenty, Abigail Emmerson depicts a neo-expressionist face in black, white and red which, in combination, are representative of the pain she endures every day. The undefined nature of the brushstroke suggests the raging anguish the artist felt at the time of painting. The final addition to the piece, the white tears, depict the desperate sadness of the artist as she resigns herself to continued life with ME/CFS. The title of the piece is a reference to Sylvia Plath’s Lady Lazarus, a source of inspiration to Abigail. Her artistic influences are Gordon Bennett and Jean Michel Basquiat.