I often find myself asking what it means to be alive. A living thing. An animate object. Dualisms chase me; how does one find balance in extreme dichotomy? Carl Jung’s process of shadow work has remained a grounding point of inspiration, though when I stare long enough into the mirror, I can fall into it so quickly that the glass shatters and leaves my face covered in scratches. 

The figure I paint is my own shadow self: beautiful, but lacking stability and the ability to get a grip. She has no hands or feet, only nubs, which I imagine feel like walking on knuckles. This figure walks alone, searching for balance in cold and echoey brutalist spaces representing the many rooms of the subconscious. Once someone is comfortable enough in an echo chamber, it requires incredible strength to simply look out the window and into the conscious part of the mind. 

You are a real person. 

Roxy Eaton is a Michigan-based painter whose work explores psychological themes of interiority and dichotomy. Working primarily in oil paint, she depicts her own shadow self navigating subconscious spaces of the mind. Her process begins with rendering digital references before drawing the scenes onto handmade cradled wood panels for painting. 

Eaton also has a background in calligraphic aerosol art, metalsmithing, and early experiments in gouache. She recently received the Corinne Maillard Robinson Award in the 45th Annual Michigan Fine Arts Competition at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center (BBAC). She has exhibited in several group exhibitions in Detroit including Art We Love (2024), Parallel Play (2025), and will be exhibiting a sculpture in the upcoming exhibition (SUB)SURFACE at Swords into Plowshares Peace Center and Gallery.