ARTIST STATEMENT
How do you remember your childhood experiences? Through the concept of art as alternate, I reflected on the overwhelming experiences of my childhood to communicate the impact of these negative events. I manipulated materials symbolic of my time in hospital as a child, and exploited colour, texture and form to reflect how trauma can infect the innocence of the childhood mind. I strived to express feelings of isolation derived from a traumatic 3 month stay in hospital from misdiagnosed type 1 diabetes and the constant battle with the chronic disease (trauma as a result of the very things designed to protect me).
ARTWORK PROCESS
I investigated a range of artworks, such as ‘Mamam’, by Louise Bourgeois, to inform and develop my artwork and how I may show childhood trauma. I was inspired by Bourgeois’ conceptual use of a spider to reflect her trauma, and how exploiting the visual language as such, allowed her to create a very domineering affect. I experimented with a range of different objects, materials and ideas in order to reflect myself and help project to the audience my own trauma. Early on I chose plastic to symbolise hospital – the root of my trauma and carried this throughout the development.
