[post]traumaticstressdisorder
My approach to art making is shamanic and alchemical:
To process raw emotional, psychological [symbols and meanings] and physical [materials] states into aesthetic 'objects' which can be reflected on and dialogued with. The techniques are guided by synchronicities and co-incidences, piloted by intuition, in service of awareness and healing.
Through this body of work my approach to art making has changed. I carry a heavy influence of traditional and formal 2d picture making (painting and drawing), together with handcraft (knitting, sewing, weaving and crochet) and sculpture (material manipulation). I have worked deliberately to undermine these techniques in order to allow the 'unexpected' and 'unknown' to emerge. I believe with this the unconscious/shadow is given form, in order to be seen, communicated with, and heal.
With this body I use materials, symbols and colours which I associate with specific states of being (dependency, co-dependency, poor self-esteem, sabotage, vindication, revenge, hatred, anxiety, fear, scarcity) and specific incidents. I am exploring psychological conditions whereby painful situations are chronically repeated and re-enacted [post-traumatic-stress-disorder]. I´ve come to understand that this occurs because there is a fundamental error lodged deep within the psyche, which constantly re-creates these situations in order that conscious awareness and healing occurs. I have also become aware of a 'sub-symptom' of this 'neurosis'; the constant reiteration of painful 'situations' creates negative emotions. Both the rituals of re-creation and the feelings generated can develop into forms of addiction.
The materials I use relate to specific incidences (eg. fight tickets, drawings, journal entries, clothing, water bottles: objects collected/generated whilst travelling abroad, visiting a lover). By processing (making art) I process those situations and relationships. This is the 'post' in the traumatic stress. The framing/preserving (display cabinets and bell jars) point at the crystallising of the process through addiction. There is an inherent paradox with the work: the processing of material in order to release ´stuck´ psychological states, and the preserving of these now released states. This points to a paradoxical attitude I have toward the art object, material and the art world.
[This body of work has been in process since 2010]
Splendid
9 January 2013, Brussels
To process raw emotional, psychological [symbols and meanings] and physical [materials] states into aesthetic 'objects' which can be reflected on and dialogued with. The techniques are guided by synchronicities and co-incidences, piloted by intuition, in service of awareness and healing.
Through this body of work my approach to art making has changed. I carry a heavy influence of traditional and formal 2d picture making (painting and drawing), together with handcraft (knitting, sewing, weaving and crochet) and sculpture (material manipulation). I have worked deliberately to undermine these techniques in order to allow the 'unexpected' and 'unknown' to emerge. I believe with this the unconscious/shadow is given form, in order to be seen, communicated with, and heal.
With this body I use materials, symbols and colours which I associate with specific states of being (dependency, co-dependency, poor self-esteem, sabotage, vindication, revenge, hatred, anxiety, fear, scarcity) and specific incidents. I am exploring psychological conditions whereby painful situations are chronically repeated and re-enacted [post-traumatic-stress-disorder]. I´ve come to understand that this occurs because there is a fundamental error lodged deep within the psyche, which constantly re-creates these situations in order that conscious awareness and healing occurs. I have also become aware of a 'sub-symptom' of this 'neurosis'; the constant reiteration of painful 'situations' creates negative emotions. Both the rituals of re-creation and the feelings generated can develop into forms of addiction.
The materials I use relate to specific incidences (eg. fight tickets, drawings, journal entries, clothing, water bottles: objects collected/generated whilst travelling abroad, visiting a lover). By processing (making art) I process those situations and relationships. This is the 'post' in the traumatic stress. The framing/preserving (display cabinets and bell jars) point at the crystallising of the process through addiction. There is an inherent paradox with the work: the processing of material in order to release ´stuck´ psychological states, and the preserving of these now released states. This points to a paradoxical attitude I have toward the art object, material and the art world.
[This body of work has been in process since 2010]
Splendid
9 January 2013, Brussels
