gallery exhibition

 

During the gallery visit , one of the works that stood out to me was works by Christine da Cruz who had an art piece called “ Feminine(o)” which was a hand stitched embroidery thread water color paper and another piece called “ feminino” which was a hand-stitched embroidery thread , hospital x ray  artist in her except says she was trying to reflect on healing , being vulnerable and being honest. She mentions that “caring for others often leaves little room to care for yourself” and I greatly agree with the artist as during the pandemic although my situation and hers may look very different they may also seem very similar in that the artist had to take care of her terminally ill parents and this often requires energy and self-sacrifice. I, during the pandemic had to also take care of my family as my parents both had covid-19 and as the eldest child, had to make sure that my parents were well taken care of and my siblings too who looked up to me. The artist in her Art includes animals and she mentions that the animals represent the path she is taking to find a deeper connection to her her spirit. Through this the artist suggests that it Is a good thing to take time and find help that connects you to your inner self.

Another artwork that stood out to me was “Emotion sorting cape “ by the artist Pollie Barden. The artist in her except mentions that her inspiration came from the fact that she was forced to confront her feelings in 2020 when the pandemic was at its best. The artist mentions that the cape was a tool for her to externally process her emotions and that the cape is a part of her emotional journey of becoming partners with her feelings. This artwork greatly stands out to me because I feel that sometimes people need to get in touch with their emotions and 2020 was a very difficult year and many people who had been used to maybe running away from their stressors were forced to confront those stressors as now everyone was cornered. I also feel that because our lives are so busy and most of the time people don’t even have enough time to process their emotions before another stressor hits, 2020 was a great way in which people had enough time to process their emotions as most of us were out of work and spent most of the time indoors. It was a great way to also find out new ways in which you can find motivation on your lowest time and maybe project your emotions to something else, something physical. I also think that 2020 gave people time to relax And spend time with family, on a regular day personally, I am at school and at work and in between many other things require my attention so barely do I even have enough time to sleep so taking time off in 2020 was a great way to realize that sometimes taking time off even reduces your stressors and is a great way to rejuvenate and might also improve your mood.

In a way, all the artwork during the gallery exhibition was amazing and greatly spoke out to, me personally especially since most of it was focused on health and mental awareness. This was greatly welcome since most of us had an almost the same experience where the country was locked down and many people had to spend time indoors. For some it was a bad experience since now they had no opportunity to escape from their stressors and had to learn to live and survive with them. For others it was a challenging time where everything was crumbling, and they had to find ways in which to survive. For others it was a great way to take a break from work and school and everyday stressors and for once take time for themselves and explore their interest and even be creative. Some even had a chance to heal themselves emotionally and instead of escaping through everyday chores, they had to face their demons. So in a way although they year was challenging, it was a great time for many to do what they had never had time to do before and even improve on their mental health and the different artist works that were in the gallery in some way support this idea and each artist even gives their own perspective on the year and how they had to come up with ways to cope.