Throughout life people go through multiple experiences that affect their physical and mental condition. In my work, I explore how negative experiences and traumatic relationships affect our lives through the traces they leave on us. I want my work to connect with people on an emotional level, highlighting issues related to depression and suicide.
Depression makes people withdraw into themselves. They don’t show what’s going on inside, they put on a mask saying, I’m fine. Wearing a mask, we lose sensitivity, creativity, spontaneity, our childlike delight and openness to the world. We lose our true nature. Every time we say, I’m fine, we lose a piece of ourselves.
The vessel becomes a metaphor for the human condition, made on the potter’s wheel to reflect the progressive, circular, and hopeless nature of depression. I use tatting to show our sensitive self through its delicate and fragile structure. This contrasts with solid, mould-covered clay forms of the vessels. The juxtaposition of these materials comments on the lasting marks that depression and negative experiences from human relationships leave on our bodies and psyche.
