ALLEVIATING

Using a drone mounted camera at some of my favourite locations in Sussex, I have documented my surrounding local landscapes, as seen (mostly) from the air. Leaving behind a traumatic period in my life created a sense of freedom previously not felt. New and elevated perspectives created disassociation from negative thoughts, memories and feelings.

 

This use of distance and scale as well as the positioning of the mirrored surfaces underneath the print, allows the viewer to see and appreciate ‘the big picture’ and the world around us, posing the question - where do we as humans fit in?

 

These images represent my experience and my journey of recovery from a place of  feeling worthless and insignificant - a place of questioning my purpose.

 

Unidentified psychological scars can have a profound and long lasting impact. Inspired by Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score  I have used cutting and burning to represent the permanent imprint caused by trauma to the brain. I have stitched and embroidered my damaged prints and used the same square motif and stitched repairs to represent pain and damage and subsequently the healing of wounds  - repaired neural pathways/new behaviours/fresh perspectives. 

 

The randomness of the stitching is representative of the chaos and panic that can be experienced when reliving traumatic memories during the healing process. The recurring shape throughout the collection is indicative of how one can relive the same trauma, no matter where you are in your life; feeling as real in memory as it was in the moment. 

 

This may be a journey of healing that is never fully complete. 

A recognition and acknowledgment of one’s scars however, is a step towards happiness and contentment, as well as continued healing.