You Can Believe in Anything

by Ashleigh Bagwell

You Can Believe in Anything is a mixed-media collage made with torn paper, sewing pattern fragments, found text, and real bird feathers. Within the layers is a loose silhouette of a girl with wings — not fully defined, but suggested. The wings and the phrase “I fucking love you” are meant as encouragement rather than confrontation. The piece is about believing in your own ability to rise — to move, to grow, to fly — before the world ever confirms it for you. The sewing pattern paper references ideas of how we’re told to be shaped or instructed, while the feathers represent something real, light, and instinctive. This work isn’t about certainty or answers. It’s about self-belief as a starting point — the quiet, internal decision to trust yourself first.