Cotton Mouth

This work represents a recurring dream of mine, made with the intent of processing my anxious innerworld. In this dream, I am often in conversation, when suddenly I feel my mouth fill with large chunks of cotton, not noticeable to those around me. This results in an extremely uncomfortable sensory experience that has me run to the bathroom, bend over the sink and try to pull out the cotton or hurl. Over time I began to associate my dream with my difficulty vocalising my innermost feelings - especially if the emotions are as vulnerable as soft cotton. They remain suppressed, build up over time and result in a distressing state of being nonverbal. The work is digitally illustrated in a woodcut style akin to the works of Frans Masreel, an early artistic influence, and allows the viewer to endlessly pull out cotton from the mouth. It was displayed over the sink in “Something’s Missing”, a bathroom exhibition.

By the first cycle of my second semester, I had already established my intention to employ vulnerability in my art-making as a form of resistance. Thus, my practice had begun to depict a more visceral and unabashed expression of raw and emotional states of being.