Plantain



The project "Apply Plantain" 2026 is about people who have gone through a traumatic experience (physical or psychological) and have learned to live with it.

I remember as a child, when I got a scrape, we would treat it ourselves by sticking a plantain leaf on it — the main thing was not to show ourselves to our parents, otherwise we'd get 'in trouble.' Since childhood, I've been my own healer, like many of us. In our patriarchal society, it's not customary to complain; it's shameful to be weak, scary and unsafe to show vulnerable, wounded spots, and inconvenient to ask for help. Therefore, we hide all our traumas carefully, trying to 'keep up appearances' and go through the experience alone.

The heroes of my project are people who still remember the feelings they had while going through trauma, and some are still experiencing them to this day. Immersing themselves in that state, each of them tried to express their pain through their body language. By inviting me into their homes and sharing their personal stories, the heroes assimilated the experience of being seen and accepted in weakness and vulnerability, as well as becoming a support for others in traumatic situations. Only the person experiencing the pain can truly understand its magnitude.