UNDERREPORTED, 2023

Acrylic, Oil Pigment Stick on Drywall

180 x 400 in

UNDERREPORTED is a gallery mural made to inform the viewer of some of the current statistics about child abuse, child trafficking for sex, but under the heading text of "UNDERREPORTED" to suggest to the viewer that despite the alarming percentages related to child trafficking and sexual abuse, they are grossly underreported.

Memories of Early Trauma Reflected in a Child's Subconscious, 2023

Acrylic, Oil Pigment Stick, Oil Pastel, Wax Crayon

60 x 60 x 2 in (h x w x d)

An array of warm color and symbolism face the viewer in this work. This is the only piece of the painted collection which does not feature any writing and instead relies on the child like figures and drawings to bring meaning to the piece as intended. Images of broken family dynamics, alcoholism, gambling, miscarriage, scarcity, abortion, deception, and abandonment are drawn in, among others, to highlight common themes in challenged upbringings. The piece is divided between the memories and a representation of a child’s subconscious where words are not yet formed and events are swirling images of color of varying intensity and hues, making their way into a blended swirl in what is intended to be the actual mind of the child in the center of the chaos.

STOP CRYING, 2023

Acrylic, Oil Pastel, Wax Crayon

72 x 60 x 2 in (h x w x d)

Stop Crying depicts a boy (middle) who is surrounded by influences that promote emotional suppression, repression, and depression. A combination of semiotics and written word express themes of child abuse, violence, alcoholism, and dysfunctional family dynamics among others, including a repressed inner child in a “subconscious prison” in a pool of tears.

In “Self Reports of Early Childhood Victimization Among Incarcerated Adult Male Felons,” 68 percent of the incarcerated adult male felons reported some form of early childhood victimization before age 12, either physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect.

NOT FOR SALE, 2023

Acrylic, Oil Pigment Stick

80 x 92 x 2 in (h x w x d)

Breaking from the style present in the majority of the collection, NOT FOR SALE is an expressionist piece full of bold color against the depth of a black background meant to convey the heavy nature of the subject being addressed. A face can be made out in the middle of the canvas representing a crying child with the boldly emphasized words “NOT FOR SALE” vertically squaring the child’s portrait alongside the expressionist gestures that surround it. This piece has embedded the raw emotion of the artist and his expression of him in response to this world of child trafficking and sexual exploitation. Created as the final piece in the painted collection, NOT FOR SALE is the punctuating message to a world of distortion that neglects their own humanity.

[Don't] Click Play, 2023

Acrylic, Charcoal, Wax Crayon, Oil Pastel

48 x 48 x 2 in (h x w x d)

[Don’t] Click Play captures the scene of a hooded figure entering the dark web with its ensnaring elements appearing all around him. Notably, the scene depicted right next to the faceless offender is the scene of his inner child in his subconscious, surrounded by images of a child as if drawn onto the walls and recounting memories. Tucked away in the corner of this scene is a dark figure with a red “X” representing a repressed memory of abuse. The “X” is meant to represent both the repression of the memory, but also the accompanying feelings of shame, abandonment, rejection, and neglect that the inner child continues to experience in this space of unprocessed emotions, stuck in the background, witnessing the acts of the now adult as he searches for child sexual abuse material online.

In the bottom right — “Rings of Pain” is seen with nine (9) circles placed together to indicate the high proliferation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online which is distributed across the dark web by ‘rings’ dedicated to that aim.

In 2021, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 29.3 million reports containing 39.9 million images and 44.8 million videos. According to the international hotline organization INHOPE, in 2021 82% of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) depicted children aged under 13.

X (Man Trapped Inside a Roach on Money), 2023

Paper, International Fiat, Acrylic, Oil Pastel on Canvas

72 x 60 x 2 in (h x w x d)

X is a piece to magnify the distortion of a world of child trafficking and sexual exploitation. A tiny and insignificant creature, the roach, is seen on a disproportionately large pile of money from over 50 countries to acknowledge the global issue of child trafficking. The roach represents the distortion of man when greed, lust, and his childhood trauma is unprocessed allowing his shadow to become who he is represented by, in this case, a repulsive creature that lures in the dark and filth. A stifled face is seen on the roach to suggest the presence of a man who has lost all command of himself and walks slave to his shadow, searching for safety and significance in the quest for more money and the misuse of force and power. The X symbolizes the artist’s rejection of the distortion, the world of child trafficking, and the pursuit of money at the expense of humanity, including the offenders’. Real international fiat was used for the background representing countries Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Estimates from the ILO suggest that the world off of human trafficking is a $150 Billion industry.

The Disappearance of Isabella, 2023

Painting, Oil Pastel, Wax Crayon, Duct Tape

60 x 48 x 2 in (h x w x d)

The Disappearance of Isabella is the depiction of a scene of child trafficking taking place in multiple instances of time present throughout the work. The painting is uniquely divided into sections but maintains interweaving elements to tie the different parts of the work together. In the section where the inner child is present, you see illustrated a “handshake with the devil” while the inner child bows his head in disappointment, shame, or guilt. This symbolism has multiple intended meanings for the entire piece and beyond into the collection itself. The scene beneath it features child’s eyes in fear emerging from a shadowy background hovered over bags of money, illustrating the driving economic motivation of the industry of child trafficking, where the lives of children become transactional merchandise.

Remember to Forget This Ever Happened, 2023

Acrylic, Oil Pigment Stick, Oil Pastel, Wax Crayon

60 x 48 x 2 in (h x w x d)

Remember to Forget This Ever Happened is a primarily text based painting to directly convey the kind of threat based manipulation that may contribute to childhood memory repression, visualized by the closed doors surrounding a cage inside an adult woman's mind. The visual elements support the instance of manipulation from an authority figure to a child; in this case, the man represented is her father. The red X on his face denotes rejection. A roach is found on his shoulder as an element of his past trauma nested on his person, as a shadow in the background of his actions. The red X also reveals the semblance of the underpainting of a face which is covered to represent the mask of distortion this man wears as his own. The doll the girl holds by the hair tells the story of her own abuse.
About 90% of children who are victims of sexual abuse known their abuser. 60% of abusers are acquaintances, teachers, neighbors, or community leaders. 30% of children are abused by immediate or extended family. Only 10% of children are sexually abused by a stranger (Finklehor & Shuttuck, 2012).
The average age for disclosing Child (CSAA) Sexual Abuse and Assault is about 52 years {Sprober et al., 2014).
86% of CSAA goes unreported altogether (Kilpatrick, Saunders, & Smith, 2003).

Past Hanging Over Me & His Bedroom, 2023

Mixed Media Installation

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Past Hanging Over Me, 2023

240 x 152 × 12 in (h x w x d)

A staple piece of the collection, Past Hanging Over Me, is a harrowing element of many of the themes found in the entire collection. The red X is primarily used to symbolize rejection, both feeling rejected as well as being rejected by the outside world. It also represents the presence of repressed memories and unresolved emotional traumas in childhood. In this case, it hangs as a wearable object over the scene of His Bedroom to fuel the idea that the Trafficker subconsciously lives with these combined elements, specifically the ones linked to his past, hanging over him despite his lack of awareness.

His Bedroom, 2023

Used furniture, mattress, silk sheets, mixed media elements

The installation of His Bedroom sets the scene of a child sex trafficker’s bedroom portraying the home of a wicked mind. Mixed media elements support a scene of chaos and mental disturbance.

Caught in the Dark Web, 2023

Mixed Media on Wood Installation

96 x 80 x 40 in (h x w x d)

An installation to magnify the world of dark web browsing for child sexual abuse material. The keyboard and mouse are marked by the search for “child porn” in red. The dark web represented is one that is meant to not just draw the viewer in, but to illustrate how that dark web consumes its viewer, catching them in its grip, further punctuated by the absence of the escape key on the keyboard. Scratches, nicks, and liberal use of oil pastel capture the expressive actions of CHAMPZY during the creation of the final additions to the work. This installation supports the artwork, [Don’t] Click Play, and some of the elements depicted on it such as the hood, a USB drive, and a child’s toys.