‘In the name of shame‘ and ‘The Book of Shame‘
Installation for ARTEL Contemporary Art Group show, themed ‘Possessed‘
13 – 19 June 2015
An installation, a compilation of objects from home, a ritual of writing confession and metaphor to examine perceptions around shameful experiences by removing silence and judgement.
What if we aren’t possessed by the world outside, but by our own mind?
What if it is ‘I’ who possesses “I”?
What if a darkly constructed childish thought was possessing me now.
Process: “I sat on the child’s chair in the dark wardrobe and sank into my own shameful childhood memories, I wrote some down on a piece of paper and followed the trail of experiences through my life writing and experiencing those feelings again.
I then wrote the confessions on the outside of the wardrobe and in ‘The Book of Shame’.
I tested this with my friends, one by one introducing them to the work.
And then mustered courage to display it in the exhibition, and to ‘notice’ the interaction, and to be present to engage with others.
Participants reacted to the confessions, asked questions about “those poor people”, reactions were not those expected and conversation exchanged were deeply moving.
At the end, I felt less possessed.”
Wardrobe, graphite, child’s wooden chair, white coat hanger, black blanket on plinth with text ‘Possessed by silence – words weep in my cupboard of shame’