Embodied Trauma
Keziah Craven
This exhibition showcases the creative outcomes of Keziah Craven’s PhD research project, Embodied Trauma: Exploring Performance and Wearable Art as a Visual and Tactile Language for Sexual Assault Survivors. Approved by the University of Canberra’s Human Research Ethics Committee (14457), the project creates a visual dialogue that brings visibility to the lived experiences of survivors.
Working collaboratively with individuals who self‑identify as having experienced sexual assault, Craven supported participants in translating aspects of their trauma into sculptural forms. These forms have been incorporated into, or have inspired, the wearable art garments made from both handmade and commercial papers. Shown here off the body as standalone sculptural works, the pieces invite viewers to engage with their materiality, symbolism, and emotional resonance in a contemplative setting.
Nudibranchs have also informed the conceptual and aesthetic foundations of this project. These sea slugs are not poisonous in themselves; instead, they absorb toxins from their predators and store them within their cerata, transforming external harm into a defence mechanism. This biological process mirrors the ways survivors consciously and subconsciously develop their own strategies for protection in response to trauma. Their vivid colours, rhythmic forms, and repetitive structures have become a reparative aesthetic within the garments—an embodiment of resilience, transformation, and the capacity to transmute what was once harmful into something protective, expressive, and beautifully alive.
The exhibition examines how wearable art can give trauma a tangible presence while also functioning as a therapeutic process through which survivors reclaim their bodies, voices, and agency. Through this exploration, Embodied Trauma contributes to a deeper understanding of the transformative potential of wearable art in trauma recovery.
*This exhibition may contain references to themes of (SA) that some viewers may find distressing*
‘Embodied Trauma’ will open alongside ‘Friends’ by Anna Bonshek, and ‘Guide to Surreal Urbias’ by Eliot June O’Dowd.
Image: Keziah Craven, Janolus, 2026. Image courtesy of the artist.
Exhibition opening event: Thursday 2 July, 2026, 6 – 8pm
Gallery opening times: Wednesday to Sunday, 12 – 5pm
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