Dozens Of Haunting Sculptures Have Been Erected On A Frigid Alaska Beach

Sculptures made of straw, cement, plaster and burlap, are part of a public art installation at Point Woronzof in Anchorage, Alaska.

Rachel D'oro / AP

For years, artist Sarah Davies suffered the effects of undiagnosed fibromyalgia, a disorder that can mean musculoskeletal pain, mood issues, and amplified sensitivity to pain.

Not knowing what was wrong, she slipped into isolation.

Rachel D'oro / AP

"I went through years of hiding, trying so hard to segregate my personal world from my professional world," Davies says in a video message for her upcoming sculpture project. "And then mine collided, and that was terrifying. And that was the day, that was the scariest for me. I believed that was my last day."

Davies' experience is what informs her upcoming art installation at Point Woronzof in Anchorage, Alaska.

Rachel D'oro / AP

Starting Dec. 5, 85 sculptures made of straw, cement, and plaster molded around burlap-covered human models will dot the now-cold and gray shoreline — a testament to others who have also pulled through a mental disorder or illness.

Organizers of the 100Stone project describe the weathered sculptures — which will eventually number 100 — as the "physical encapsulation of hundreds of unique experiences of vulnerability."

When the project opens, 100Stone organizers say the public will be exposed to stories of "resilience" over what can be for many, like Davies, a marathon of self-care.

The stories take root in a number of circumstances, including trauma, grief, chronic illness, mental disorders, and substance abuse.

For Davies, it wasn't until she started getting proper care for her diagnosis that she started "transforming my perception of myself.”

"I know what it fees like to hide, I know what it feels like to isolate," she said. "Something needs to change.”

Rachel D'oro / AP

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