Visual diary and evidence base. Part of DYSTROPIUM, an installation in development.

Using assemblage, collage and sculpture, the artist undertakes an accounting of ephemeral data as record keeping of emotional responses, starting with the historical period 20 January - 20 April 2025. 

Looking to the role of art in society as a connector and resource, the artist seeks to build on previous work to validate new forms of data gathering and analysis, and to lend rigour to non-traditional forms of information.

The resulting wall pieces, floor standing works, charts and spoken word compositions aim to bring together ancient ways of knowing, with modern methods of scoping, collecting and articulating data.

Using emotion as a stream of information, the artist experiments with ways to elevate lived experience into a valued research measure, criteria and output. A public installation will seek to gather forms of emotional or ephemeral data from members of the public.

‘Dystropium’ is an invention and portmanteau of dystopia, dysphoria, delirium, trope, distraction, destruction and even hope. This iteration of the work depicts responses to a social legacy of self-restraint, self-control and euphemistic decoration that demanded decorum and mastery of the art of polite dissent. It considers the costs versus the value of an inheritance of masked emotions designed to keep ‘unpleasantness’ at bay.

=======================

Making process

The artist’s signature making process is an evolving methodology that monitors gesture, selection and associations. These are captured alongside emotional responses to world events, private conversations and elements of daily life.

A pre-production process, including techniques such as ‘accidental knitting’, sense checks alignment of the visual account against diarised dates, thoughts and feelings. It’s a contemplative phase of inspection and introspection that can give rise to internal discomfort, before resolving to some form of clarity and restored sense of agency.

Material use

The artist draws on influences from indigenous healing, animism, mental health, tarot and garment tailoring to combine and assemble found fragments with meaning.

Lace table linens, leather offcuts and object fragments are recurring motifs in the artist’s work:

Pristine table linens highlight outdated etiquette that dictates hard truths and ‘ugly’ realities be kept under wraps. They are ripped, creased, stiffened, layered and combined with rusted fragments in an alternative act of conservation and self-preservation.

Use of leather skins references human and non-human existence in relation to inorganic objects we’ve brought into being. Used here as headers for each piece, they are inspired by the roofs of Shinto temples in Japan, providing safe haven for expression and prayer.

Fragments of broken domestic items and tools starkly contrast human power and motor skills against feelings of impotence and ineffectuality in communication and conflict.

May 2025