Disappearance, suffocation, collapse, and death. These are the sufferings of the alienated and depressed body. Or are they, perhaps, the means by which suffering can be overcome? Deprivation and self-harm are time-honoured tools used in spiritual disciplines from around the world and throughout history. They are also recurring motifs in the field of body art.
In his PhD examination exhibition ‘Sacrificial Bodies’, Tom Isaacs demonstrates his deep and critical engagement with the problems of alienation and depression through his body art practice. Drawing from his research on ritual and psychoanalysis, Isaacs has developed four performances that interrogate the medium of body art and explore its potential efficacy as a response to these formidable deadlocks.
Date: 13 April - 20 April, 2022 Open by appointment Email: [email protected] Location: SCA Project Space, Room 201B, Building A12, Science Road, Macleay Building, The University of Sydney.
Harry: “Is it bad that I’m a bit weirded out that Snape is dating?”
Hermione: “I think it’s perfectly normal. I mean you went from having an antagonistic rapport with him to the discovery of his true allegiance and love for your mother, which may have made you unconsciously cast him in a sort of idealized somewhat paternal role in your mind, given his feelings for your mother and the fact that he always protected you. To be honest, it could also be that you may feel a bit guilty in regards to all the sacrifices you now know he’s made to keep you safe, and his new relationship sort of gets in the way of the ‘martyr’ figure you created in your mind to deal with your own feelings of guilt in regards to him.”
Harry: “Can you please not psychoanalyze me?”
Hermione: “Then stop acting like Snape’s new relationship is somehow like your mum and dad broke up and you’re adjusting to the fact that your dad has a new girlfriend.”
Harry: “What are you talking about, I don’t see Snape as a father figure.”
Hermione: “No, you just really need his approval, constantly rebel against him and feel ambivalent about the fact that he may have got over his love for your mother.”
Other analytically oriented clinicians who treated incest and sexual abuse survivors told us they were often steeped in self-doubt, even shame, about what they considered to be somewhat unconventional and turbulent treatments. They yearned for reassurance, guidance, and validation.
Jody Messler Davies and Mary Gail Frawley, Treating the Adult Survivor of Childhood Sexual Abuse.
This goes out to everyone who has scared their therapists with unconventional and turbulent behaviors and relational approaches. What happened to you was so overwhelming that it’s overwhelming to grown-ass clinicians with a PhD experiencing only echoes of the abuse, from miles and miles and years and years away.
