Broken

Acrylic on paper.

By Rubi Ace

There are wounds so deep, they refuse the language of speech. Instead, they bleed into canvas — quietly, defiantly. Broken is not simply a painting; it is a reckoning. A private grief dragged into the open air. A tender act of rebellion against the silence forced upon those who have endured too much.

The figure, nude and exposed, sits in a moment suspended between collapse and reclamation. Her hands reach toward her hair — a gesture that might once have been mundane, but here becomes sacred. She is not posing; she is surviving. The light that touches her body is not gentle — it is interrogative, merciless — and yet, she remains. A breath caught in paint.

This is the aftermath of domestic violence. This is the echo of rape. It is the heaviness of memory made flesh, and the ache of PTSD rendered in tones of muted flesh, shadowed hips, and weary limbs. There is no embellishment. Only honesty — aching, urgent, unadorned.

I, the artist, painted this with hands that tremble still. Not for pity, nor for beauty, but because I had no choice. The pain had to be given shape, or it would swallow me whole. This is what survival looks like. Not triumphant. Not complete. But still here.

To those who see themselves in her, know this: you are not alone in your brokenness. And perhaps, in our fractures, we are more human than ever.

#rubiace #ballarat #ballaratartist #ptsd #ptsdawareness #domesticviolencesurvivor #rapeawareness #traumaart #survivorart #feministart #mentalhealthmatters #healingthroughart #emotionalart #expressionism #rawart #australianartist #artistwithptsd #artastherapy #paintingpain #survivorstories