In The Quiet
This body of work featured in "Odyssey"" the Limerick School of Art and Design Graduate Show
2013. My space consisted of eight prints, from the series, "Fluoxetine Hydrochloride". The prints were box framed behind museum glass, and accompanied by a two-channel video piece entitled, "The Architecture of Happiness".
2013. My space consisted of eight prints, from the series, "Fluoxetine Hydrochloride". The prints were box framed behind museum glass, and accompanied by a two-channel video piece entitled, "The Architecture of Happiness".
In the Quiet
I am fascinated by the constant pursuit of happiness. My work, which initially began as an exploration of depression and melancholia, has developed to the stage where I find myself questioning the existence of happiness at all.
In a society where prescriptions are readily issued for the hasty treatment of malcontent, anti-depressants reign with the promise of happiness, to numb and suppress more permanent underlying problems. Exploring the idea of the architecture of happiness and how aesthetic surroundings can influence a person’s mental state, my work features the modern domestic kitchen as a metaphor for the numbing effects of an anti-depressant. I have employed a combination of film and animation to address this concept through a 2 channel video piece, examining the anti-depressant in a cold, sterile environment to reflect its origin, and purpose.
This concept is continued through my prints, wherein I have created very minimalistic spaces using subtle shapes and shading to emphasise the calming, and numbing sense of emptiness a person can experience whilst taking an anti-depressant. I aimed to create a space akin to the mental state encouraged by an anti-depressant, a state totally oblivious to mental pain; in the quiet, as it were.
In a society where prescriptions are readily issued for the hasty treatment of malcontent, anti-depressants reign with the promise of happiness, to numb and suppress more permanent underlying problems. Exploring the idea of the architecture of happiness and how aesthetic surroundings can influence a person’s mental state, my work features the modern domestic kitchen as a metaphor for the numbing effects of an anti-depressant. I have employed a combination of film and animation to address this concept through a 2 channel video piece, examining the anti-depressant in a cold, sterile environment to reflect its origin, and purpose.
This concept is continued through my prints, wherein I have created very minimalistic spaces using subtle shapes and shading to emphasise the calming, and numbing sense of emptiness a person can experience whilst taking an anti-depressant. I aimed to create a space akin to the mental state encouraged by an anti-depressant, a state totally oblivious to mental pain; in the quiet, as it were.
As it is so subtle, the work was framed under museum glass for maximum effect. However photographing them for documentation is still an issue as they never reproduce to their effect in person.
The accompanying close up shots below may give some representation of the pieces.
To read more about my Degree Show work, see http://lillybob.blogspot.ie/2013/06/the-degree-show-and-all-that-came_17.html