“Reality vs. the Psychiatric View” Watercolors, permanent marker, psychiatric hospital pencil, 12×9. $100
Former tall ship sailor turned activist-artist Shay Seaborne mostly lived in the Northern Virginia suburbs and has resided in Wilmington DE since 2018. Disabled by Complex PTSD since 2014, Seaborne experienced a years-long cascade of psychiatric, medical, and pharmaceutical trauma and abuse after they asked mainstream medicine for help with Developmental Trauma in 2018. In response to their medical trauma, Seaborne took up watercolors and became a Trauma Awareness Activist-Artist and Relational Neuroscience (also known as Interpersonal Neurobiology) educator.
Although Shay painted well earlier in life, the psychiatric abuse they endured as “standard treatment” at Rockford Center for Behavioral Health caused such a severe disruption to their nervous system it was like being sent back to preschool. They couldn’t even hold a brush, only splatter, drip, blow, stomp, and smear the paint.
“Views of Trauma” 12×9, watercolors, permanent marker, psychiatric hospital pencil, $100
Influenced by their study of the neurobiology of fear and their appreciation for diverse comic art forms, such as Lynda Barry, political cartoonist Pat Oliphant, their own brother’s childhood “Cigar Guy” character, Archie™ comic books, MAD™ magazine, Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” graphic novels, Mort Walker’s “Beetle Bailey,” and the animated film “Bambi Meets Godzilla,” Shay creates outsider/underground/graphic medicine art. Their original and relevant watercolors are primitive and cartoonish because those qualities soften the incomprehensibly brutal experiences that can cause Complex PTSD as well as the dismal typical trajectory of constant and lifelong struggle created by Adverse Childhood Experiences. This helps them and others heal, informs providers and the public, and empowers survivors. Shay’s distinctive images are the deeply moving and sometimes visionary work that results after complex trauma strips away all but the most tenacious aspects of a person.
“Scrutinized by the Lens of Psychiatry” watercolors, permanent marker, psychiatric hospital pencil, 12×9, $100
As their self-taught watercolors progressed, Shay learned they can paint a pretty portrait or lovely landscape, but the horrors and cruelties of their Extreme ACE Score Survivor’s lived experience are best expressed through an underground style. Comics or cartoons can more safely illustrate wrenching subjects like child abuse.
Feedback from healthcare practitioners and social media encouraged Shay to embrace their artist’s identity in early 2020. Mx. Seaborne came out as an artist-activist on their blog, public Facebook page, YouTube channel, other social media, and interviewed on podcasts, Facebook Live events, and two interviews (First, Second) on WIWV radio, 89.5 KOPN
Lacking exhibition space and opportunity, Shay created highly portable Lapbook Galleries. These picture-book-like exhibitions tell a trauma story or demonstrate a neurobiology concept, generally in 10 or fewer paintings. Mx. Seaborne developed their galleries with inspiration from the PechaKucha. Shay appreciates the idea of selecting pieces that best tell the visual story with a limited number of images. They use this as a kind of container to avoid overwhelming the viewer.
As part of their activism, Shay painted illustrations for an “Intro to Trauma Awareness” webinar they presented to healthcare professionals; developed “Della the IPNB Ladybug,” a cartoon character that teaches Relational Neuroscience to doctors, children, and everyone between. The Della the IPNB Ladybug books offer Relational Neuroscience paired with adorable ladybugs that make learning neuroscience concepts fun and easy. Shay created their first exhibition, “Defiant Bitch, or ‘The Significance of the Father on the Destiny of the Individual,” presented in a Lapbook Gallery. Shay’s original watercolors have been exhibited in 7 shows, including a solo exhibition with an artist’s talk.
Mx. Seaborne also works in ceramics, such as their “Curiosity Pods.” They are working on a large outdoor installation.
Since their release from the Cuckoo’s Nest in 2018, Mx. Seaborne has painted about 500 pieces. They are currently focused on a new Della the IPNB Ladybug book about the neurobiology of healthy communities.
