Michael Jung
Tangled Emotions

AwardBlue Ribbon

SchoolPadua Franciscan High School

CityParma, Ohio

TeacherMary Remington

InternGenoveffa Morway

MediumPhotograph

Artist's Statement

Hands are a potent symbol of our connection to one another. They are often our first entry into relationships with others and how we first experience the world. In my work, I am trying to confront the social barrier a deformity of the hands would create and to convey the mangled emotions of love, guilt, horror, fear, and hope that I imagine might occur when a family is confronted and learns to live with this congenital defect. I can only imagine the guilt a parent would suffer wondering if they were responsible for their child's abnormality or the fear they might feel for their child's future happiness. On the other hand, there is the need to overcome and protect children from negative emotions so that they can have the support they need growing up.