The Shell/ters

The embodiment of psychological experience and the nature of somatic response is the underlying theme in this work. It addresses issues concerning how the body absorbs, holds and disguises illness. 

Comprising three human-scale single occupancy shelters, this work aims to introduce a pro-active expectation of a cure for some complaint we may not even be aware of harbouring. 

They provide an opportunity in which to shed anxiety, detach from divisive discourse and reboot energy levels. That they can be interpreted as sanctuary or prison is a point of contention and within this ambiguity lies a tension between what is anticipated and what is experienced.

Hold Still is designed to facilitate an energy transfer, not to treat an illness but to act as a catalyst. Press Pause may be experienced as a Faraday cage, a form of protection from electro-magnetic signals while the adapted cow-brush in Shed Skin references the importance of physical contact for human and animal wellbeing.

Positioned as a triumvirate, The Shell/ters represent stations in a secular pilgrimage or ritual, the purpose of which is at the discretion of each individual participant’s narrative.

Creatures of Love

Creatures of Love 1
Creatures of Love 2

Creatures of Love 1 and 2 (2020)
Photo intaglio on paper
14.5 x 20.5cm

I have been thinking of protective shells as places to heal and develop. I initially chose the oyster because of its beauty but having done some research have found some very interesting aspects. Firstly, it can choose to be male or female depending on the need/availability.  It is apparently alive when it is shucked, exposing its still beating heart before being consumed, so also pretty tragic as well as being considered an aphrodisiac. The build up of calcium to produce the shell is linked in a way to the calcification of traumatized organs or embodied trauma in the human, including arteries, I’m sure you know that this secretion produces the pearl to protect itself from the invading body. I positioned them on graph paper to emphasize a medical dissection/scientific examination type aesthetic…also how something beautiful can be destroyed in the process. The external shell surface is particularly beautiful but I really was drawn to the emptiness of the consumed heart. 

Shed Skin

Shed Skin, steel, film, brush, stool, 210 x 85 x 85cm

Shed Skin references the importance of physical contact for human and animal wellbeing. The sides of the steel skeleton are enclosed with net-printed film. Inside a 30 x 85cm brush is positioned facing a high stool. Touch and massage are important factors in treating trauma held in the skin. The rejuvenating brush increases circulation and promotes a sense of calm.

Press Pause

Press pause, steel,  180 x 80 x 80cm

The steel enclosure with hinged door, viewing grille and stool is reminiscent of a cell or confessional. Alluding to mental fatigue, the purpose is to provide a space in which to unburden. Working as a Faraday cage, electromagnetic fields are blocked preventing mobile communication. Once inside the atmosphere is comforting, the sound is both muffled and amplified. We are encouraged to quieten the senses in the altered environment. From this vantage point we can observe the bustle of life outside knowing that we are obscured behind the metal grille and have paused in our participation. It is not a sensory deprivation space but a place to escape from sensory overload.

Hold Still

220cm x 70cm x 75cm

Steel, glass, wool, polyester, swing, film

This shelter adopts the aesthetic of 1950s medical apparatus with particular reference to Wilhelm Reich’s Orgone Accumulator. In the form of a cabinet, it was designed to absorb and conduct biological energy through alternating layers of wool and steel onto a concentrated inner surface where this energy could then be passed to an occupying body. This raised energy level was capable of unblocking a trauma or attacking an illness. Although imprisoned for making fraudulent claims, Reich’s contribution was honest, accessible and perhaps at odds with the then burgeoning predilection with pills and medication. Elements of this research have been adapted to construct Hold Still in which such an energy transfer is possible, not to necessarily treat an illness but to act as a catalyst.

Hold Still, steel, wool, swing, privacy film, 206 x 70 x 75cm

This re-purposed data server cabinet stands for the body as machine, a container of information. Inside the walls resemble theatrical curtains and the seat provided is a swing whose momentum is restricted by the tight confines. The door is coated in mirrored privacy film with a tiny spy-hole promoting a power play between viewer and occupant.