To Flourish in the Unseen By Giuliana Dorso

By Giuliana Dorso 

Do you ever wish people could see what lives inside of you, or are you content with the unintentional barrier that protects our internal and external selves? My artwork has always been focused on exploring vulnerability—how every piece is a delicate balancing act between the unseen and exposed self, fighting for recognition of the pain, beauty, and rawness of our truest forms created.

It’s interesting how our journeys are fundamentally driven by the specific storms we weather. When I was seventeen, I underwent a procedure that removed twenty-eight pounds from my chest— finally shedding a heavy, suffocating coat I was constantly forced to wear. Seventeen was the age I received true validation for the pain that lived inside of me, having someone really see the hurt and how severely it was weighing me down on the outside. Years of fighting my own identity while still trying to grow within it created a deep tension I will forever try to truly understand. It proves how our most vulnerable memories can ultimately determine our trajectory to flourish.

I recognize that interpreting the literal term could be part of my struggle. The idea of "flourishing" often suggests reaching a static, perfected state of thriving within the self, but some concepts require a much deeper understanding. To me, flourishing is a continuous, evolving growth cycle being orchestrated over time. We all carry undisclosed flourishing we are actively working toward, but how we process these ongoing cycles remains the core piece of our healing potential. My artwork became this exact mechanism for me—the very live process for how I navigated the real chaos living within the walls of myself.

Three years later, I was told I needed to undergo a corrective pelvic procedure, presenting an internal battle to match the external one I had so recently fought. This new medical reality forced me directly back into the space between exposure and protection. Yet, just as my first physical transformation allowed me to shed an external weight, this upcoming procedure demands a profound internal surrender.

While I have a clear message to convey regarding these transformations, my artistic process rarely follows a straightforward path. I prefer to let my work take on a mind of its own, welcoming fluidity and seeking out undiscovered directions as they naturally unfold. On canvas and paper, colors intertwine and dance together, forming unexpected relationships, complex patterns, and organic shapes that celebrate being different. Ultimately, there are no rigid rules for how you must share the stories that live inside of you.

For a long time, I found myself lost in this process, attempting to censor the intense realities I was facing under the weight of societal taboos that deem female body trauma—both internal and external—as something shameful or forbidden. I learned later that the true healing potential of artmaking relies on actively dismantling that silence. When we make art out of isolated pain, it remains a quiet, private burden; but when we offer that pain up as a shared visual language through paint, graphite, or the lens of my camera, it transforms into a vital tool for collective release, inspiration, and systemic advocacy.

Still, on days when my physical pain resurfaces, I realize much of the ache comes from a persistent longing for a parallel struggle. While broad empathy and general validation offer comfort, they can still leave a lingering emptiness—we fundamentally yearn for a direct mirror, someone whose story aligns so precisely with our own that no translation or explanation is required. It is within this exact gap between isolation and recognition that my creative practice truly lives.

This bringing together of physical vulnerability, artistic exploration, and shared truth is where my ultimate definition of flourishing resides. Flourishing is not a final, pristine destination where physical or emotional turmoil ceases to exist, but rather the brave, continuous cycle of processing that turmoil into connection. By converting raw vulnerability into an unvarnished visual language, my work serves as a living bridge—inviting my audience to step past the taboo, honor the unseen, and flourish together through the unedited honesty of our shared scars.