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My Bachelor of Arts Journey

Third year

I am a mixed media assemblage artist with a passion for working with upcycled and recycled heavy metals and glass.

Through the processes of cutting, welding, grinding and pop riveting I make sculptures that capture aspects of chaos and entrapment to portray the pressures of trauma.

Having previously served in the armed forces as a chef, I  was no stranger to witnessing episodes of trauma and the impact this had on the  human condition. 

As a consequence, I have first hand experience of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and I wished to convey through my work, some of the emotional aspects of living with a heightened state of awareness and feelings of anxiety. 

I use this practice to try and express trauma that not only I feel but can understand how others may feel. I try to show and emphasis on the potential for change and hope for the future. 

The Sad Man

The reason behind this came on one of them days suffers of PTSD try to hide. It was a day that I still think of today and I never really explained why till now. My Nightmare came to me day time in class. 

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I made the Sad man because I was feeling ashamed I allowed to let my defence down and my emotions took over.

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Everything he made of came out of a bin either in Metals or glass and even the Fab lab. It amazing I had many people telling me,, They understand, with out me explaining the reason. 

Recognition

​‘Recognition’ is an acknowledgement of dysfunctional thought processing through the 3D printing of cogs inside a glass bust taken from a 3D scan of my own head.

Pressures of trauma

Prison of the mind

This came about in a strange way it was first made as part of my 602 work which was also focused of mental health. But I changed the chain shape and the base shape giving it a more potential look.

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It represents how sometimes I feel and others like we are chained in a prison looking though windows we cannot open to escape.

Chaos

‘Chaos’, is a compression of meaningless parts (waste metal) within a rectangular glass case that was pot riveted together using leather as hinges.

‘Pressures of Trauma’ - is a 3 dimensional collage enclosed in a wall of steel.

Entrapment

‘Entrapment’ is an  innovative amalgamation of clay and iron filings encased in a fragile riveted glass box.

This was to act out the mind being trapped and a spike of trauma on the outside awaiting.

The sculpture Entrapment was designed to represent three elements. The main one is how sufferers of PTSD feel every single day of our lives. They say they can cure it. NO they can make it more controllable but it never goes away.

I also choose this piece to represent something I learnt in year one.  

​​The knowledge of Pot Riveting glass a few others have tried and failed at.

​The third reason was what is inside, A new material that I am working on that still needs a change of recipe. So to keep it safe I entombed it to help me show how sufferers feel trapped for no reason of their own.  

Summary

When I first started this course I knew the challenge I was going to undertake would take me to the realms of deep emotion and open up more my creative vision. I was not wrong. But given the chance I would do it all again.

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I met some really good friends and had knowledge given to me from a great team of lecturers and technicians.

My journey is progressing to new levels and I hope that I will in time be able to give back what I learnt to help others along their path of success.

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