Fading in the Light

Monica is an artist whose work blooms from a journey of transformation, loss, and healing. Holding a PhD in engineering, Monica once lived a life rooted in academia-structured, demanding, and intellectually intense. But beneath the surface, years of pressure and trauma began to take a heavy toll. Monica lives with PTSD, depression, and anxiety-challenges that have shaped, but not defined, her. Art became both a way to cope, and a way to rediscover herself.

There were times I stood in the open, smiling, speaking, surviving - while inside, I was trembling. The light touched my skin, but not always my heart. I learned how to blend in, how to hide my pain behind brightness, behind beauty, behind strength. This painting is about that contradiction - being seen, yet not truly visible. It’s about the silent struggle of appearing okay when you’re not. The shadows dancing across the light aren’t just patterns - they’re the parts of me I kept hidden.