Inspired by Willow Smith’s album “COPING MECHANISM”, Kayla depicts her habit of using unhealthy coping mechanisms to cope with her depression and frustrations as she moves through life. From a young age, Kayla would frequently use self harm as a way to cope with difficult feelings and situations, and over a decade later, she still struggles to find an alternative method to dealing with life challenges.

Using a smoking figure, sexual and violent imagery, and the image of Jesus on the cross, this work represents Kayla’s attempt at trying to use healthier coping mechanisms in the face of adversity instead of the harmful ones she’d always relied on.