LICA BUILDING AND THE PETER SCOTT GALLERY
COORDINATE
Ellie Riley
Chaotic branches, overlapping in seemingly natural and unnatural
ways that overwhelm and confuse, are the subject of my project. In
the way these branches and trees create a staggering atmosphere
with their presence, I wish to connect these aesthetics to the
overwhelming nature of depressive, anxious and obsessive
thoughts that come with the hidden struggles of mental illness.
Inspired by a childhood sketchbook which I kept during my personal
experiences with mental health difficulties, I am exploring the feelings and emotions brought back from looking at these images. Forests were something I grew up around. During difficult moments, when I refused to leave the car I would find distraction in focusing on the trees, drawing them with as much realistic precision as I could. Many of my feelings as I was growing up with the depression, like the slowly composed branches, were embellished in the tangled foliage I drew.
I am working from my head to create manifestations of these
obsessive thoughts, embodying the dark energy with these
foreboding entities hidden within the forest “mind-scape”.
Painting