Half a Glass

Words and phrases collected from friends who have varying forms of depression, friends who work in the social sector with people experiencing depression on a daily basis and online sources offering advice on how to live with depression.

I wove their words with my own internal dialogues (everyone has an inner critic right!), resulting in a true collaboration. My friends were very honest with their words, sharing personal journeys, rather than the professional story I was expecting. I'm grateful for their trust and honesty.

To make this piece, I loosely mapped out placement then painted as I went, feeling the piece, styling and arranging the words to suit how I felt in the moment. An unusual process for me, as I tend to re-draw and re-paint until I’m happy with the result.

The words are configured in both an intentional and unintentional way. We can all read things differently, it’s up to the viewer to put the words together. The top and bottom of this piece are the extreme zones. I found the under drawing the most difficult to work on. As I painted, I decided it is ok to ‘be’ anywhere
in these 'zones', with whatever thought pattern is in process. To give myself permission, allow space, time, friendship with all the thought patterns, be in nature, challenge the thought patterns - whatever helps create internal acceptance.

The real reward has lain in observing people reading and viewing this piece of art. From afar it is hard to make out the words, and you’ve got to work hard to read what’s in the black dog zone. I’ve marvelled at the different experiences and connections people have had with this artwork. I hope that it helps promote and normalise discussion of the many forms of depression.

DIMENSIONS: 1,000mm x 1,000mm (wxh), 36mm deep

MATERIAL DETAIL: Acrylic on thick ply, wooden backing frame, sealed with matt water-based polyurethane, ready to hang on a wall.