Sculptures Give Glimpse into PTSD-Ridden Minds

LORTON, Va. — The effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on this nation’s veterans can be devastating.

More than just loss of sleep, PTSD can cause once emboldened military warriors that served in combat overseas to lose their sense of self worth, to feel helpless and regretful — an illness debilitating enough to place them into hospitals to help treat the condition.

Talking about the effects of PTSD is tough, soldiers said, so many have turned to art to express their feelings, and to help share what’s going on inside their heads.

“I wanted to show that PTSD was taking over my life, but I wanted to make it pretty,” said Linsey Liu, an Army Corpsman who served two tours in Iraq.

Liu crafted a sculpture of her head, with the front of it showing regular features like a nose, eyes, and long stringy hair. But take the detachable faceplate off and the inside of the head — a red, tormented brain is revealed.

“With art, you get the freedom to say what you want to say without having to talk about it because, let’s face it, talking about it sucks,” said Liu.

She was one of several artists who are patients at Fort Belvoir’s Art Therapy program, an outpatient center that treats servicemen and women suffering from PTSD.

A growing form of treatment that has also expanded to Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland, the patients on Saturday put their work on display at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton. It’s part of a new exhibit entitled “360 Degrees of Post Traumatic Stress” that features sculptures by local artists, all depicting how PTSD makes them feel.

The effort is part of the Combat Paper Project, which allows soldiers the ability to cut up their old uniforms worn in battle, beat them into a pulp forming a sheet of paper, and then use that paper to create art.

“When someone has trauma, it’s an experience that gets stuck in their heads as an image, not words, so this art is a way for them to get that image out,” said Eileen McKee, an Art Therapist at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.

Other sculptures included heads with pieces of the Army’s battle dress uniform, tiny guns, and words like “hero” written on the outside.

“Here is what everybody is supposed to see when they look at me. This sculpture shows how I really feel,” said Liu.

The exhibit will be on display through August 16 at the Workhouse Arts Center’s W-16 Gallery.

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