Annie Flanagan

We Grew Up With Gum In Our Hair, 2002–2015; Love, Hannah, 2014

Annie Flanagan’s (*1986) work focuses on the deep roots of gender-based violence in American society as well as the mental health and social problems that accompany it. She tends to begin projects that are informed by experiences she has had, or that those close to her have had. Then she looks at how those experiences exist on a larger level and in different situations. “We Grew Up With Gum In Our Hair” began when her best friend, Hannah, left her abusive boyfriend. In this relationship Hannah experienced long-term exposure to emotional trauma, in which she had little control and no hope of escape. The project is part of a larger body of work called “Deafening Sound” and focuses on the correlation between domestic violence and post-traumatic stress disorder.