Artist: M.B. Dallocchio
Artist Statement
My work explores the relationship between the Military-Industrial Complex, trauma, intersectionality, and life as performance. With influences as diverse as Franz Kafka and Frida Kahlo, new synergies are synthesized from both explicit and implicit textures. Ever since I was a Soldier, I have been fascinated by the essential unreality of the human condition. What starts out as tragedy soon becomes transmuted through artistic alchemy into inspiration, the chance of a new synthesis. As the post-traumatic journey often becomes distorted through studious and academic practice, I seek to shine a light through the darkness in order to show there are pathways to healing from complex trauma. Through my work as an artist and a licensed social worker, the viewer is left with an epitaph for the outposts of our culture and an insight into the possibilities of a better world.
Artist Biography
M.B. Dallocchio, LMSW, is a Chamorro artist, author, and social worker who specializes in artistic psychosocial rehabilitation. Born in New York City, Dallocchio grew up in an itinerant military household that led her to enlist in the military herself at the age of 17 in Oakland, California. She served as a medic, mental health sergeant, and retention NCO in the US Army for eight years. While on deployment to Ramadi, Iraq in 2004-2005, she served as a member of “Team Lioness,” the first female team that was attached to Marine infantry units to perform checkpoint operations, house raids, and personnel searches on Iraqi women and children for weapons and explosives. In addition to having been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, PBS, Yahoo! News, and many other media outlets covering facing injustice during and after combat, she also speaks out on DEI, post-traumatic resilience, and the importance of self-empowerment. She received her Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California with a concentration in macro and military social work. She is a David L. Boren Scholar in Czech studies and international relations and holds a certification in business and international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She currently resides in Milan, Italy, with her family.