"Good Dog" Painting

Ria has DID and is one of Kim Noble's personalities.
From the age of 14 years old Ria has spent 20 years in and out of hospital until she made contact with Dr Valerie Sinason and Dr Rob Hale at the Tavistock and Portman Clinics. 10 years ago she began therapy and was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (formally multiple personality disorder). D.I.D is a creative way to cope with unbearable pain. The main personality splits into several parts each having an amnesic barrier between them. It is a conventional disorder but Ria has had extensive tests over 2 years by leading psychology professor at UCL, John Morton , who has established there is no memory between the personalities and that she represents the British gold standard over genuine Dissociation. With no formal art training, Ria and 12 of her personalities (alters) became interested in painting in 2004 after spending a short time with an art therapist. These 12 artists each have their own distinctive style, colour and themes, ranging from solitary desert scenes, to sea scenes to abstracts, collages and paintings with traumatic content. Many are unaware that they share a body with other artists.
Ria's works takes you into the nightmare world of child abuse, depicted through the childs eyes, hence the bright colours. Many people can't face the truth of abuse and turn away, the use of very bright colours also makes the painting noticeable making the viewer look and see what happens, it is hard to miss.
The patchy, ghost like figures floating above are depicting dissociation. When the pain gets too much the child looks down on themselves, believing that it isn't happening to them and watching from above. Trauma can cause out of body experience, dissociation.
The works of other alters can be seen under Kim Noble, Bonny Noble, Golden Dawn, Judy Ash, Patricia King, and M.J.
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