{"id":1325,"date":"2016-02-02T11:51:48","date_gmt":"2016-02-02T17:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/?p=1325"},"modified":"2025-07-25T12:50:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T17:50:56","slug":"judith-shaw-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/judith-shaw-exhibit\/","title":{"rendered":"Current Exhibit Chronicles Life with an Eating Disorder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading time: 2 minutes<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

For Judith Shaw, what began as a diet and exercise program after having children became a life-threatening battle with anorexia. \u201cI was orchestrating a slow, deliberate, painful suicide without even knowing it,\u201d she says. After more than a decade, she admitted she needed help and moved to St. Louis for inpatient treatment.<\/p>\n

The experience was life-changing\u2014and surprising. While fighting her disease, Shaw uncovered a hidden creative passion through art therapy. In the coming years, she would create more than 100 sc\"Judith<\/a>ulptures reflecting life with an eating disorder.<\/p>\n

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Shaw’s visual diary, \u201cBody of Work: The Art of Eating Disorder Recovery,\u201d is on display in 91ÖÆƬ³§\u2019s Morton J. May Foundation Gallery through Feb. 26.<\/strong><\/h6>\n

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\u201cJudith\u2019s artwork does an incredible job of representing the complexity, emotional conflict, and most importantly, the hope that goes along with an eating disorder,\u201d says Jennifer Henry, director of personal counseling and head of Maryville\u2019s Body Pride Team, a student group that encourages positive body image. Henry was instrumental in bringing Shaw\u2019s work to Maryville to help promote Body Pride Week, Feb. 22-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cEating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness,\u201d Henry says. \u201cThe average age of onset for anorexia is 19, bulimia is 20, and binge eating disorder is 25. The traditional college-age population is an important group to target.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want people who have an eating disorder to know they\u2019re not alone, and that recovery is possible.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maryville is among universities and medical schools around the country to display Shaw\u2019s \u201cBody of Work\u201d exhibit. With each new installation, Shaw discovers something new about herself and her experience with anorexia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat surprised me most this time is the story captured in these pieces doesn\u2019t really feel like my story anymore,\u201d she says. \u201cThe punishing thoughts and immobilizing feelings that devoured my life for all those years are no longer relevant because food, exercise, and the scale no longer rule my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although she is not using art to quiet the destructive voice of her eating disorder these days, she hopes the pieces she created during that time will help others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want people who have an eating disorder to know they\u2019re not alone, and that recovery is possible,\u201d she says. \u201cI also want people who don\u2019t struggle with an eating disorder to understand the complexity of the illness, and to not be afraid to reach out to a person who may be struggling and support them.\u201d<\/p>\n

UPDATE: Thank you St. Louis Public Radio for the positive media coverage of our art exhibit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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