Proposal Abstract

Floating an inch above the floor is a series of prints. First you approach an image of a broken pot and as you do, tiny gold hearts emerge from the surface. Moving deeper into the space, delicate relief prints of objects hold your gaze downward, followed by images of purple petals. Like the broken pot, upon closer look, gold emerges but this time it is shimmering plastic wrappers. Towards the back of the space, peaks of an accordion book garner your attention and upon closer look, the delicate text becomes apparent reading, ‘information gladly given but safety requires avoiding unnecessary conversation’. As your gaze finally moves upwards, wonder consumes you as you curiously inspect six confetti-filled frames. From left to right, beyond the confetti, there are single words that when strung together read ‘there isn’t room for inconsequential feelings’.

My negotiations of public space and movement across boundaries are informed by my experiences with and memories of traumatic public gender-based violence. As a research method, I embody the coping mechanism of looking down: as I negotiate daily life, often looking down, I collect images, make notes, and collect objects that garner my attention. This collection is then used during the production of much of my work.

Through this exhibition I endeavour to present a reflection on the intertwined nature of personal trauma and environmental crisis. I draw attention to waste as both an embodiment of my trauma- as only noticed because of looking down—and as unattended to refuse. I will present how joy and care can be coping strategies which when personally exercised, can allow for survival through our individual trauma, and when applied to the environment, can be frameworks to, at best, aid in the crisis we are in, and at worst, cope with being in the end-times.