Artist Lis Naylor created eight paintings for the 2022 exhibition Untold Stories after listening to women in Leicester who had survived domestic abuse.
Presented at Beta X Leicester, the exhibition was developed with the Zinthiya Trust, which supports people affected by abuse and poverty.
Animals chosen by the women themselves
Naylor asked each participant to select a spirit animal representing her strength and identity beyond the experience of abuse.
The finished paintings included a placard carrying a message to the perpetrator. Beside each image, the woman’s own text explained the choice of animal.
One participant chose a Labrador to represent loyalty, protection, happiness and the determination to remain strong for family and friends.
Moving beyond a narrative of tragedy
The workshop acknowledged painful histories but also asked the women about joy, future ambitions and the qualities they recognised in themselves.
Naylor wanted the paintings to resist the tendency to portray survivors only through suffering. The animal figures gave visual form to individuality, power and self-definition.
Participants reported that the process increased confidence and helped release some of the burden connected with trauma. The project did not claim that art could remove what had happened, but it created a public image selected with the women rather than imposed on them.
The paintings were offered for sale after the exhibition, with proceeds supporting the Zinthiya Trust.
Untold Stories gave equal importance to image and written testimony. Each work belonged to a particular woman and preserved the language through which she chose to be seen.