Caught

There are certain illnesses that strike suddenly and seemingly out of the blue. The change from health to sickness seems almost instantaneous. In this piece, I symbolize the experience of being caught unawares by an illness, similar to the way a butterfly might land on a flower and find itself stuck, unable to rise up again and take flight as it normally would. Like a butterfly, sufferers of chronic illness desire to be free, fully alive, and able to go about their ordinary lives, only to find themselves stuck or trapped by their illness, unable to participate in daily activities or “rise up” into flight.