Post-traumatic stress distributor

Post Traumatic Stress Distributor

“PTSD Distributor” reflects my rejection of the automatic assumption that everyone who has worked in war or crisis zones emerges from them psychologically broken. Conflict has been part of my operational reality for decades. My frame of reference has naturally adapted to environments that most people only know from headlines or screens.

This painting symbolizes acceptance rather than flexibility. The realization that exposure changes you, but doesn't automatically destroy you. Returning to normal society simply means returning with different priorities, different reactions, and less tolerance for superficiality. Acceptance over a wait-and-see flexibility.

There is a fundamental difference between trauma and adaptation. Especially when you were not only in the eye of the storm but also the one who spread that storm. Violence leaves its marks, but not every change is a break. Sometimes it is the result of experience, adaptation, and the ability to continue functioning within a reality that is barely imaginable to others.

This work was created on canvas with acrylic paint applied using a Glock magazine, a compass, a combat knife, and a combination of sand and gravel from various crisis areas and the Netherlands itself. I use real operational materials to leave something of myself in the canvas and give the artwork the soul it deserves.

Dimensions: 55 × 75 cm, canvas.

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This original artwork is individually registered in The Operational Art Archive and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity & Provenance. Individually signed by the artist (P2M).

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