Point of Entry (the Scar Project)
Point of Entry is a series of oil paintings depicting people and their scars and other sites of somatic healing. Painted on mirror fragments, each work contains a carved line defining the incision of the scar, allowing viewers to see themselves reflected within. Based on interviews with the subjects represented, accompanying texts tell the story of the scar and how subjects were able to overcome adversity, defy societal expectations and heal from trauma.
Point of Entry seeks to amplify narratives from marginalized communities that disproportionately experience mental illness, but whose stories are vastly underrepresented in our conversations about mental health. Zeta collaborates with nonprofits to paint their constituents and through concurrent programming foster community engagement, cultivate cultural reform, and raise public awareness through the arts.
In 2022, Zeta worked with Safe Horizon’s Anti Trafficking Program, the nation’s leading victims assistance organization, to create an exhibition that centered the healing journeys of trafficking survivors. In 2024, Point of Entry x Women Against Abuse will center survivors of domestic violence who experience the intimate connection between scars, both physical and psychological, and offer opportunities to build strength and foster restoration. Enacting principles of trauma-informed care including choice, respect, safety, social justice, and collaboration, interviews will include clients’ active engagement in designing their part of the exhibit.
Contact us.
For all inquiries, please email: natashazeta.art@gmail.com
About the Artist
Natasha Zeta (she/her)
Natasha Zeta (b. 1993, Mumbai, India) is a mixed media painter who creates interactive portraiture with broken mirrors, allowing the viewer to step into another perspective, challenge their conceptions and empathize with her subjects. Zeta seeks to amplify narratives from marginalized communities that disproportionately experience mental illness, but whose stories are vastly underrepresented in our conversations about mental health. To further this mission, Zeta collaborates with nonprofits to paint their constituents, foster community engagement, cultivate cultural reform, and raise public awareness.
In 2022, Zeta received the Center for Emerging Visual Artists Fellowship. She also received grants from the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority’s Fund for Art and Civic Engagement (with support from the Knight Foundation), Puffin Foundation, and was a finalist for the Barbara Deming Foundation Money for Women Grant. In 2024, Zeta received the Puffin Foundation Grant for Artists.
In 2021-22, Zeta worked with Safe Horizon’s Anti Trafficking Program, the nation’s leading victims assistance organization providing case management, psychotherapy, and legal assistance to trafficking survivors.
In 2023-24, Zeta is working with Women Against Abuse, Philadelphia’s largest domestic abuse service provider, to create space and visibility for domestic abuse survivors and their scars, sites of somatic healing, artwork, and journeys.