This project is an extension of previous investigations into the impact of bereavement in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Previous projects, To Feel Planted (2021) and Inner Bloom (2021) have been studies of grief in a time of intense isolation from family and community.
I am interested in the connections between myself and the systems within which I exist. We are influenced by our individual factors (age, sex, health, race, class) relationships, home, work, school, community, environment, and culture. As I have a professional background as a Social Worker, I will be using Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems Theory to look at the influence of an individual’s micro, meso, exo and macrosystems to explore their capacity for resilience. How these factors impact upon my personal capacity for resilience is of key interest to this project with particular focus on authenticity and vulnerability.
This project will reflect on my experience of resilience and growth while navigating the ambiguity of lockdowns, border closures and isolation from usual support networks. Learning and reaffirming that resilience involves psychological elasticity. Drawing on the work of Social Work Scholar and Researcher Brené Brown, I will be investigating how resilience can be developed through vulnerability and authenticity. The materials and techniques I will use will reference this specific time, place and context within which I am making the work.
Melbourne has experienced grief, loss, and trauma in the collective experience of frequent lockdowns and isolation from their social networks. My experience is unique, but it is relatable through authentic connection and empathy. Brown (2006) explains the participants of a resilience study reported their main concerns were related to feeling isolated, powerless, and trapped, as illustrated by the expectations of The Shame Web (2004). The pathway to building resilience was accessing empathy, connection, power, and freedom. A major barrier to feeling connection is shame; fear that something about you renders you unworthy of true acceptance and connection (Brown 2010; 2013). The antidote to this is being your authentic and vulnerable self. Brown explains that ‘vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change’ (2010) and ‘vulnerability is the path back to each other’ (2019).
I am taking inspiration from Artist Tracey Emin (b. 1963) who is known for her autobiographical and confessional style work. Emin directly confronts experiences such as sexual abuse, abortions, and alcoholism in her art; subject matter shrouded in taboo with potential for shame and judgement. Emin expresses her rawest emotions regarding traumatic life events, utilising art and storytelling to convey a powerful lived experience, as seen in My Bed (1998) and Terribly Wrong (1997). Emin’s work is brave, vulnerable, and empowering through the freedom of performance and creativity. There is therapeutic value in the creation of the work in processing one’s own internal narrative and there is the potential for work that is deeply personal to resonate with the viewer, to contemplate the collective grief and struggles we all endure in our own private universes.
I have been experimenting with eco-printing using plant foliage and natural dyes. This is a process that embraces chance while utilising materials that are found within my personal systems; plants and leaves from my garden, neighbourhood, and kitchen. I am inspired by the eco-printing work of Kate Gorringe-Smith (b. 1966) who creates works using natural foliage from the trees and plants around her home, combined with linocut prints of native birds, honouring a specific time and place.
I have been experimenting with various papers and fabrics and testing several types of natural dyes and techniques. Through independent research, I learnt that in order to prepare the fabric for natural dying it needs to be scoured to remove any contaminants and sizing. To do this, I placed 2 teaspoons of washing soda and placed the fabric in a large pot, covered in hot water from the tap and heated on the stove. I was careful not to boil the water, as I did not want to damage the fibres of the material, and simmered for 2 hours. The water was brown after the scouring process which was a surprise as the material looked clean and white.
The next step was to apply a mordant to the fabric. The mordant helps the natural dyes bind with the material to make it permanent. I used aluminium potassium sulphate - 2 teaspoons with warm water from the tap, simmering on the stove for 2 hours. After this process, I hung the material in the sun to air dry and collected some leaves, branches and flowers from around my neighbourhood to prepare the eco-prints.
The eco-prints on fabric were more subtle than expected. From my research, it can be more difficult to get a defined print on fabric and it depends on what fabric and plant materials you are using. The next step was to trial eco-printing on paper. I chose Arches hot pressed 185gsm watercolour paper, as I have had great results with this paper while creating cyanotypes. I wanted a paper that wasn't too thick but would be robust enough to survive the eco-printing process. This paper worked perfectly - although, I did rip the first piece when I was unwrapping them, but that was due to my eagerness.
The first paper eco-prints were successful and I could see that washing the paper with alum prior to placing the leaves and flowers made a difference. This was evidenced through areas where I had not covered the paper completely and the natural dye had less coverage in that area. I placed each new paper on top of the last paper to make a pile, then I bundled this tightly between 2 pieces of cardboard and twine. I soaked some of the leaves in rusty water as rust is meant to help develop the natural tannins and can change the chemistry of the dye as it binds with the paper. The iron acts as a natural mordant and creates a special kind of alchemy.
As a side note, I did not have any rusty items but, like a bit of a Saladfingers, I put in a request to the online Good Karma group in my neighbourhood for anyone giving away rusty things and I was fortunate to be given a donation of a whole box load! When I placed the paper in the pan, I covered the bundle with alum water, red onion skin (for added colour) and a heavy pot to keep them pressed and submerged throughout the heating process - 2 hours simmering on the stove.
The prints I created are literally impressions left by the plant tannins on fabric and paper. There's also some beautiful embossing that lends itself well to my concept. Additionally, this is a process that requires careful preparation and giving up control of a specific outcome. In embracing chance and the slow nature of this technique, I am honouring the concept of growing and healing.
For the second round of paper eco-prints, I felt more prepared, armed with the knowledge of the other trials. For instance, I knew that bottle brush and camellias left defined impressions and the red of the bottle brush turned to a dark purple while the pink of the camellias changed to a vivid blue. I was sure to collect more of these flowers on the second forage. I soaked the paper in alum water to ensure full coverage, rather than washing it with a paintbrush. This time I also left the bundle to soak in the liquid overnight, after the 2 hours simmering on the stove, unwrapping them in the morning. I found the second eco-prints had fuller coverage and deeper colour than the first.
Due to lockdown restrictions and inability to use the print studio, I decided to collage the eco-prints into puppets. On a walk around the neighbourhood I came across a little fibreglass greenhouse, put out for hard rubbish collection. I gave it a good clean up and decided I would use it for the installation as it lended itself well to housing my eco-print puppets, being that a greenhouse is usually to aid growth and development of the plants inside. A second metaphor is that of 'people in glass houses should not throw stones,' particularly as this work is stepping into my own vulnerability, while shame and judgement are barriers to living authentically.
The female figure has now become abstracted from the page, becoming animated, hanging in suspended animation. Initially, I installed the work inside on white paper with scatterings of heart shaped dried leaves scattered around. However, this felt too formal, too controlled. I moved the installation into the large fig tree in my yard, that is coincidentally in the midst of new spring growth. As the little greenhouse hung precariously in the fig tree, the wind tossed the puppets to and fro. It seemed like the perfect place for Part 1 of Impressions and Indents.
References
Brown B 2006, ‘Shame Resilience Theory: A Grounded Theory Study on Women and Shame’, Families in Society, Vol. 87, no. 1, pp. 43-52.
Brown B 2010, The Power of Vulnerability, streaming video, Ted X, Houston, viewed 22 August 2021, <https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerability/transcript?language=en>.
Brown B 2013, ‘Living with your Whole Heart’, Prevention; Emmaus, Vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 64-67.
Brown B 2019, The Call to Courage, television program, Netflix, viewed 23 August 2021.
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