Project Eclosion

Time and space and how we experience psychological and physical displacement and disorientation after trauma is central to this body of work. The significance of this project is to express the shared experience directly or indirectly of physical and mental trauma related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The emptiness and transformation of post-traumatic growth after the event has become an essential element of my inquiry. The psyche becomes fractured, and we become temporarily displaced during the stage of shock after a disaster. The notion of time changes and it takes physical individual and community actions to reconnect to our space in our mind and the space around us. 

I explore what this stage looks like, chaos, self-cocooning, isolation, emptiness through materials that evoke healing, warmth, togetherness and ceremony by using the humble tea bag; layered, stained and bound in preparation for transformation. I allow for healing the fractured and capturing the emptiness through bandaging, leaving a textured surface that captures Time and struggle. Moving images capture the confined, broken, worn, ready to rest and heal. 

Reflectance, 2020. Plaster bandages, tea, linen thread, double sided tape,  size variable.

This work needed to express alone together how we would experience isolation. We are connected via invisible lines of the internet. We are all experiencing similar feelings and feel fragile and invisible. We all have a shadow of our dark moments during this tough time, and it is up to us to hold together strong, especially for the most vulnerable. Testing one butterfly on the opposite wall jet still connected to the rest of the community. I had the strings spread out under the wind. To bring out the almost invisible lines I used the light to cast the connected shadows.

Quiescent, 2020. Used teabags, dowel, glue invisible line, size variable.

The arrangement for this work was inspired by all the hanging butterflies from the branches while resting. Butterflies do not sleep; they become quiescent.

Cocooning Community, 2020. Used teabags, black linen thread, size variable.

Creating a larger cocoon out of all the little ones evokes the collective isolation we are in at the moment. The grotesque-looking shapes and markings reflect our troubles, worries and pain. We are still a community and are all cocooning, protecting ourselves what lays luring outside, COVID-19. Inside our cocoon, we experience loneliness, transformation with positive personal growth within. We turn inside and find ways to make sense of this situation, knowing this will not go on forever.

The scent of tea lingers as you walk past the work. A reminder of the ceremony that took place for each consumed cup of tea as part of the creation of this work.

The word cocooning as a human behaviour means staying inside one’s home, isolated from perceived danger, instead of going out .

The Butterfly Effect, 2020. Projected video, 5 minutes, size variable

The Butterfly effect is derived from the metaphorical example of the details of a tornado where the flapping of the butterfly wings weeks prior would have escalated in a dramatic event. Small causes with significant effects, much like the outbreak of COVID-19 that escalated so quickly. Blue Tiger Butterflies were everywhere in large numbers on the Sunshine Coast during the outbreak of Covid. They were getting ready for their migration up North during Winter. As we were in lockdown, they were free and we got to enjoy them as they rested in our trees and fluttered through our gardens, reminding us that lockdown is our chance to cocoon and rest. While everywhere was quiet, you could almost hear their wings flap. 

Video below >>