This is a 3D interpretation of a mental image use in Art therapy to describe a way that memories of events, traumas and feelings are kept within the body and mind. Each Knot can be viewed individually as they are all as significant as one another. It is seeing life as a piece of string, each Knot and tangle hinders mental wellness and contributes to mental illness in everyday life. Carrying this bundle of knotted string round affects life in a holistic manner. The ceramic pieces look strong and are hard to touch, but they are fragile. Cracks and breakages are evident on some of the pieces.
Through various therapies each knot can be untangled one at a time. The textile element of the work represents the work one has to go through when in therapy. On the textile itself there are printed images made whilst attending art therapy. This allows memories to be linked to one another and aid freedom from entanglement. Physically, the links give a sense of movement to the work. One of the links has been tangled. This is to represent that during times of therapy things often worsen before some sort of resolution occurs
Each Ceramic piece is constructed from recycled packaging intended for single use. The packaging is rolled up to create strong armatures which are able to be tied in knots. The forms are then coated in a single layer of casting slip which enables fine details to be seen by the viewer the pieces are fired straight from greenware to stoneware.
The textile element is made from calico fabric that has had images transferred onto it using phot transfer medium. The images used are paintings and drawings made whilst in several art therapy sessions. The fabric is then cut into strips which are twisted and couched using a zig zag stitch on an electric sewing machine. The chord is then manipulated into links by finger knitting.
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Email: denisejohansen71@gmail.com