Kidney Shot 

"Internal bruises, external silence.”

Close-up of bubbling liquid with small, dark, oval objects suspended in a blue and purple-toned environment.

Another Step Forward

Colorful close-up of bubbles and small dark objects in a purple-pink liquid with a textured surface.

Spray

What happens when pain has nowhere else to go?

Kidney Shot uses kidney beans to evoke the unseen injuries we carry. The scattered forms drift in suspended color, like fragments from an impact we never fully recover from.

  • Kidney Shot lands quietly, but its impact is devastating. This two-part work mirrors a body under siege, struck where it hurts most but rarely shows. A reference to an illegal blow in boxing, the title sets the tone for an unseen wound, one that bleeds internally, quietly, and over time.

    In Stepping Down, we find a solitary figure on the edge: contemplative, disjointed, barely tethered. The composition evokes a moment before a final decision, the stillness before a fall. In Spray, the form becomes more volatile, fragmented, charged with action or impact. This is where the pain attacks back, where harm loops inward.

    Taken together, the diptych is not a spectacle of despair, it’s a revelation of the silence that precedes collapse. For those facing chronic illness, trauma, or addiction, this silence can feel like a permanent hum in the background. And when the body suffers long enough, the spirit begins to echo it.

    Kidney Shot doesn’t offer resolution. Instead, it holds a space for the moment just before, the breath between bleeding and being seen.

  • Some pain doesn’t scream, it seeps. Hidden, internal, and slow. Like a kidney shot, it bypasses armor and lands where no one can see, but everything feels.

    There are moments when the weight feels unbearable. When the mind begins to whisper lies like, “Maybe it’s better if I’m not here.” But God is not absent in those shadows. He is present through the ache. Near to the crushed in spirit. Tender with those who have no strength left.

    “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

    The world might overlook silent suffering, but God does not. He sees every internal wound. Every private collapse. And in Christ, there is not only comfort, but rescue.

    In Kidney Shot, we glimpse the spiritual war many face in silence. But faith reminds us: no hit is fatal when we are held by the One who already overcame death. There’s still breath in your lungs, which means there's still purpose in your life.

    Reflection Question:

    When your pain feels hidden or too heavy, who can you call on today for help, for hope, for healing?

    Let that step be your defiance against the lie that you’re alone.

  • Workshops: Art-making on unseen wounds, silence, and resilience.

    Therapeutic/Educational: Training on hidden trauma and internalized pain; relevant for addressing suppressed grief, chronic illness, and trauma.

    Community Dialogue: Conversations on what goes unnoticed in bodies and communities.

    Youth Engagement: Projects exploring invisible struggles and empathy.

    Wellness Spaces: Guided reflections on harm, healing, and being seen.