Michelle Manzino

Through personal experience or witnessing the suffering of loved ones, suicide seems to affect the majority of the population. According to the Center of Disease Control, in 2004, suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death for all ages, with more than 32,000 suicides in that year. Although it is avoided in conversation, I would estimate that almost every person has been at least indirectly affected by suicide. 

It deeply disturbs me that this problem seems to be spiraling out of control and yet there is a silence surrounding it.  I want people to know that there is no shame in getting help if you are suffering from suicidal thoughts or are dealing with the pain of burying a loved one who committed suicide.  Because of this, I have chosen to focus this body of artwork on showing the public that suicide is a presence in our lives, and that only by recognizing our loss and vulnerability; it is possible to mend our wounds.  These pieces illustrate the depression a person feels while suffering from suicidal thoughts, the agony experienced while trying to reach out to those suffering, and the subsequent people that are left behind, such as the baby who is left without a parent. People who are suffering from suicidal thoughts often do not realize how many people truly care about them or the pain and suffering they will cause others. I want these pieces to show that many people are affected by the actions of one.  Perhaps today’s highly stressful lifestyle contributes to this growing problem, but it is crucial that society recognizes its increasing prevalence before it is too late.