“NO WAY OUT” is a confessional installation which combines poetry, screen-printing, sculpture, and audio through which I explore my relationship with overwhelm. In this work, I compare my brain to being a child, something which I feel unprepared and unqualified to take care of due to its incessance, and severe care needs. In an effort to gain peace, I detach myself from my brain through sculpture. A silicone brain sculpture takes the place of a child at nursery, sitting atop a bright patchwork foam mat amongst toys and crayons. Two 2A0 pink screen-prints which resemble the brain’s grooves claim the adjoining walls. Overlaying the prints are countless 2x2” white paper squares, each stencilled with black letters which form lines of poetry. Amongst the play materials are a pair of wired headphones looping the same poetry featured on the walls. The poetry is quietened by a louder audio track of self-critical, demeaning phrases- used to emphasise the impact of overwhelm on someone’s mental health.

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The nature of my practice is informed by artists such as Lindsey Mendick, and Dame Tracey Emin, whose work pedestals vulnerability through acts of confession- intentionally revealing themselves and their lives to viewers. Within her practice, Mendick transforms ceramic sculptures into hosts for her deepest thoughts, through which she offloads their psychological weight for viewers to observe. Much like Mendick’s “Hairy on the Inside” (2021)[1], my installation is autobiographical. I use sculpture to embody maladaptive emotions- emotions which are “detrimental to an individual's well-being and hinder their ability to function effectively” such as anxiety and overwhelm. Unlike Mendick, I use silicone as opposed to clay to create my sculpture.

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The method in which I display language within my work continues to be driven by Emin’s “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995” (1995)[2]. In her installation, she adornes the inside of a tent with fabric letter squares, detailing the names of those she had shared a bed with.  Similarly to Emin, I choose to compartmentalise the letters from words within my poetry, placing them in front of colourful backgrounds. By laying bare her most intimate moments, Emin subjects herself to judgement and criticism which is something I admire and would like to continue in my practice.

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Similar to the works of Phillip Guston[3], my installation takes advantage of viewers’ expectations. Through the use of bright colours like pink, my work visually indicates a safe, approachable space. I intend to create a false sense of security within viewers by simulating a real-world environment which references a period many of us reminisce on, childhood. This security is interrupted by the starkness of the white squares which, through poetry, detail my inner turmoil and the sobering reality of finding support for mental health in the current day.

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“Heavy Lullaby” is a video piece featuring a wooden baby mobile structure which suspends colourful, brain-like ceramic sculptures, overlaid with spoken poetry. The word ‘heavy’ refers to the physical weight of the structure, as well as the mental burdens and responsibilities of adulthood. Despite being a mobile, my piece is neither delicate nor lightweight but rather, dangerous and unstable. The glossy ceramic pieces designed to distract the baby symbolise the stressors of adulthood, which loom heavily both physically and metaphorically over the baby’s head. Together, the soft-spoken poetry and the clinking of the ceramic pieces when swayed by my hand, become a lullaby- although the content of which, is unsettling.

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By displaying vulnerability in unconventional ways, my work becomes thought-provoking as viewers may not expect to experience deep, emotional themes in a space designed for children. This subversion of expectations allows viewers a moment to reflect on their own relationships to overwhelm. Although my work speaks for my experiences alone, I aim to make my work accessible for my viewers by utilising aspects of the wider human experience. Upon reflection, viewers may see aspects of themselves within my work, forming a connection between us.

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References:

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[1] Lindsey Mendick's "Hairy on the Inside" (2021): https://artreview.com/hormones-and-hairy-claws-lindsey-mendick-and-the-wolf-inside/ 

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[2] Tracey Emin's "Everyone I've Ever Slept With "1963-1995" (1995): https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/tracey-emin-everyone-i-have-ever-slept-with

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[3] Phillip Guston's works: https://thejewelryicon.com/the-ji-art/philip-guston-not-your-usual-sweet-pink#:~:text=Guston%27s%20pinks%2C%20often%20juxtaposed%20against,the%20strange%20and%20the%20disturbing.

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