Statement
I hope to spark a conversation about mental illness and the way it is experienced and viewed in our society. Using a variety of hand cut paper and wheat paste, I sculpt tortured landscapes that express the anxieties and struggles faced as I learn to navigate a difficult and highly stigmatized disorder without medication.
Life as a twenty-something is already full of terrifying firsts, trial & error approaches to important events, essentially the blind leading the blind. So take that world of uncertainty, insecurity, financial struggles and throw the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder in that mix. Suddenly that time of learning by mistakes can become a whole lot more complicated and volatile. Coming to terms with my Bipolar Disorder was a difficult process to begin with. At a time where I'm supposed to be figuring out who I want to be in life, I'm now having to learn to deal with the stigmas, symptoms and side effects that accompany my diagnosis. In doing so, I am confronted by extremely difficult decisions like when to seek help and what kind of help will work best for me? Do I need medication? Which combination of antidepressants, anti-psychotics, or anti-convulsants will work for me? The scariest question in my mind is, how many of these tiny almost pretty little pills won’t work and how will they affect my already unstable mentality? Do I even have enough strength to battle the pharmaceutical plethora of terrible side effects, expensive medications, and sometimes withdrawals worse than initial symptoms?
Common Side Effects deals with these questions through paper sculptures suspended and seemingly weightless yet still emitting a sense of impending destruction. The use of paper as both a substrate and a medium is integral to this body of work as it speaks to the very fragile nature of my mental state. These tortured landscapes are comprised of mangled bodily forms that seem to embody the source of their own destruction.
The color palette is derivative of molten and cooled lava, the ominous greys of storm clouds, combined with the signature “pill bottle orange” and crisp clinical white copy paper of the medication guides and pharmaceutical labels. The play between these hues of fiery orange and cold steel greys speaks to the very nature of my disorder. It’s the constant push and pull between deep depression and episodes of mania that seem to distort my perception and magnify my fears.
CV
Education
2016 BFA, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA
Exhibitions & Sales
2018
UPCOMING: Common Side Effects & Similar Figures, Joint Exhibition with Sarah Adams, March 2018, The Suffering Artist Gallery, Hogansville, GA
UPCOMING: Out of the Ordinary, Mixed Media Exhibition, February 2018, Artisans on the Square, Greenville, GA
2017
Mighty and Humble: An Artistic Tribute to Veterans, The Suffering Artist Gallery, Hogansville, GA
2016
BFA Senior Exhibition, Georgia Southern Center for Art & Theater, Statesboro, GA
2015
VES Studio Booth, Spring into Statesboro, Down Town Statesboro, GA
Print & Paper Society Booth, River Street Arts Festival, Savannah, GA
Print & Paper Society Booth, ArtsFest, Georgia Southern, Statesboro, GA
2012
Foundations Juried Exhibition, Georgia Southern Center for Art & Theater, Statesboro, GA
Publications
LaGrange Daily News
Miscellany
GeorgeAnne