Side table, glass bowl, 12 glass spheres (varied diameters), resin, water, distilled water, oxytocin, serotonin, adrenaline, dopamine, norepinephrine, vasopressin, histamine, acetylcholine, estradiol, testosterone, semen, and saliva. 87 x 40 x 40 cm. 2023.
This Feels Right, Until… brings shared internal, often intangible sensations of attraction, love, lust, and attachment into a representative, quantifiable and tangible state. The artwork plays with the definitions of “feeling” and the tensions between love as it is felt and love as a subject of analysis, accepting both simultaneously.
The experience of love is complex. When viewed through an analytical lens, these euphoric feelings can be translated into a dance between ten biochemicals and two bodily fluids:
Oxytocin, Serotonin, Adrenaline, Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Vasopressin, Histamine, Acetylcholine, Estradiol, Testosterone, Semen and Saliva.
They might feel otherworldly to us, yet they are central to our sense of ourselves and of others.
Video documentation:
https://vimeo.com/901853884
Artist’s blood, distilled water, hollow glass spheres (30mm ⌀) and resin, 2023.
Self-Extended consists of hundreds of sealed, hollow glass spheres, each containing varying amounts of the artist’s blood (Collected periodically over the past two years with the assistance of a medical professional) and distilled water.
This work challenges the rational, physical limitations of the self by treating the body’s components as a medium, much like any other material. Blood, with its capacity to carry an array of emotional and physical states, becomes central to this exploration. In Self-Extended, this bodily element is preserved in a state of stasis, expanding the concept of physical boundaries through space and time.
The glass spheres act as vessels, incubating versions of the artist and allowing these fragmented selves to co-exist simultaneously.
29.7 x 42cm, Giclée print on Hahnemühle paper, 2023.
As part of a Catholic upbringing, Sundays began with morning mass, the house was decorated with religious iconography, and the concept of the ‘soul’ was introduced positively from an early age.
Philosopher René Descartes believed that the ‘soul’ has a palpable resting place in the pineal gland, located at the center of the brain. Through this locus, the ‘soul’ intermingled with the physical self, exerting its influence over the body through the internally flowing animal spirits.
The concept of Animal Spirits carries Catholic undertones, later expanded upon by Descartes, who posited that the ‘soul’ is dominant over the body, and that the ‘self’ consists of two separate yet intimately connected entities.
When rationalised and viewed in the present day, the definition of the ‘self’, its multiple manifestations, and our control over it, feel uncertain. This series explores how we navigate such uncertainties, uneasy thoughts, and sensations.
Per image: 59 x 84cm, Giclée print on Hahnemühle paper, 2020.
The series developed over the course of a year, capturing people close to me, as well as objects and living things within personal, familiar environments. The images were initially grouped based on a common sensation: the longing for something lost, close yet out of reach, while trying to prevent connections from fading away. These sixteen images were then combined into eight diptychs to expand their narrative and meanings through their contrasting elements. Their larger-than-life scale is intended to create a guarded atmosphere, acting as a defense mechanism against the vulnerability, honesty, and confrontation they evoke.
The relationship between each diptych, however, introduces ambiguity. This becomes significant, as it allows room for the viewer’s personal experiences to shape their interpretations, evolving the narrative. As a result, the series moves beyond its origins and transforms into a space of relatability
White earthenware Clay and black gloss glaze.
The Spotlight Effect developed from researching fear which unintentionally led to phobias, specifically Social Anxiety Disorder which is an extreme fear of social interaction.
The research led to finding an article in which diagnosed individuals were asked to describe how the disorder affects them on a day to day basis. A common paranoia is that sufferers feel that others in their surroundings are constantly observing their every move through a judgmental lens. The Spotlight Effect is an attempt to create a tangible portrayal of what that may feel like. The artwork is made of around one hundred domed hexagons that interlock together, glazed with a highly reflective gloss black which reflects the surroundings in detail. Once the viewer stands in front of them, they are reflected on every single hexagon, which act like pupils, observing their every move.
The title, “The Spotlight Effect” is a physiological term for a phenomenon in which a person thinks that they are being constantly noticed, which corresponds with the anecdotal experiences of those who suffer from social anxiety.
