Art Outlet for Child Abuse Survivors

The work screams out to be heard: 150 pieces by adult artists who have survived child abuse. The pieces range from angry to pastoral, from abstract to realistic; some deal with abuse directly, others not at all.

“Sexual abuse is not a theme,” said curator Brady Naier, who organized the show at Long Beach’s Out of Darkness gallery. “It’s a part of the artists, a part of their art form.”

The idea for the Long Beach show grew out of an exhibit Naier coordinated last August for the Hanson Gallery in Beverly Hills. Naier said the show was so successful that she decided to bring it to Long Beach’s Marina Pacifica Mall.

In the last year, artists from around the country have shown work at the gallery, Naier said, including sculpture, painting, photography, drawings, large constructions and mixed media.

Abuse is intrinsic in the three pieces Norwalk artist Michael McHenry is exhibiting, he said, but only one deals directly with the theme. A small charcoal drawing shows hooded figures with a knife, a wash basin and a child sitting in a corner, scared and vulnerable. The work addresses ritual abuse, he said.

Ritual abuse “is not part of my background, but it captures child abuse in general,” McHenry said. “In all cases (of child abuse), the abuser makes a deal with the devil, selling the responsibility of care giver for self-gratification.”

McHenry, 32, said he heard about the gallery through the grapevine. “At the same time I was working at coming to terms with childhood abuse and some incest. Those are the qualifications for people in the show. So I submitted my work.”

In addition to the charcoal drawing, McHenry’s pieces include an Abstract Expressionist painting dealing with anger and a post-apocalyptic scene of Los Angeles.

Many of the artists in the show use pseudonyms and maintain anonymity. McHenry, a Norwalk resident, decided to come forward “because the only way to stop child abuse is to shed light on it.”

He likens childhood abuse to “being a POW. It’s psychological terrorism of the family.”

People who never have been abused have unrealistic expectations of those who have, McHenry said. “Those who haven’t (been abused) think all the family has to do is get back together, work it out and they’ll live happily ever after.” Abuse is more complicated, he said, and so difficult to face that “most people turn off to it.”

McHenry uses his art to communicate. “I’m using my art in a more effective way than standing up on my soapbox. Art is a way of saying I will be heard. And that’s incredibly therapeutic to people who have grown up gagged.”

In addition to the exhibit, the gallery in the mall at 3626 E. Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach regularly includes new pieces. The gallery sponsors a series of workshops and lectures on Fridays from 7 to 9 p.m. For a schedule of events, call (310) 493-6897.

Admission to the gallery and its events are free. Hours are 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 1 to 11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. and Sunday. It is closed Monday.