Dissociation (Part 4: The installation, photos and video)

Having my entire year come down to one project, specifically one piece from that project, that would be showcased alongside the work of my peers in an exhibition was daunting to say the least. This academic year was about pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and whilst I kept within the realm of conceptual sculpture and installation I pushed myself to paint and draw. You may have read in the posts about my 'Absence and Presence' project (Part one / Part two) that I'm not confident with more traditional art so having painting and drawing as my main medium for an entire project was a challenge. Luckily my concepts and ideas called for a more abstract and messier style so I could hide my insecurities around painting and drawing within (mostly) purposeful mistakes.

(Approx 11.7in x 16.5in each, Watercolour and Charcoal)

These were the 5 pieces that made up the installation; all of them were cut up and then put back together in a different order with spaced out, white, crossed stitches. The sectioned images relay scenes from the London trip mentioned in Part 3: Introducing poetry and mixed media pieces, where I felt anxious and dissociative on the tube, walking through the streets and in the galleries visited.

I wanted to try and make the whole experience feel quite isolating. The piece was hung from the ceiling at head height next to a a set of headphones in a quieter area of the exhibition, the idea being that the viewer would listen to the poetry written for this project, and then get inside the space created and spin the structure around themselves.

The video above shows what would have been seen and heard when inside the piece; the dizzying movement, abstract paintings, overlapped computer and human read poetry, and the isolating use of space, all coming together to try and simulate Dissociation.