I first learned about Moon Treesin the fall of 2015. One of the trees – a loblolly pine – had been planted at an elementary school just down the street from where I was living at the time. It wasn’t a new thing – it was planted back in 1977, during the period when most other Moon Trees where being planted around the country and the world – but because it wasn’t doing too well, it was in the news.…
#postelection | #fear: Nell’aftermath delle elezioni americane, il New York Times ha chiesto a nove artisti di disegnare e descrivere le proprie paure. Tra i lavori, c’è anche quello dell’artista nigeriana-americana Toyin Ojih Odutola:
“I fear the regression of rights and policies that protect us. But I still exist and I am still working – and that is so affirming.”
The Japanese believe that when something has suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful, so they repair broken objects with gold. Instead of trying to hide defects and cracks, these are accentuated and celebrated, as they have now become the strongest part of the piece —because the repaired pottery is even stronger than the original, and more beautiful.
The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places. —Ernest Hemingway
Digital painting done in Photoshop using a Wacom Intuos pro as main tool and stock photos as reference and texture.
“After seven years of experiments, it was clear to us that the remarkable attribute of resilience in the face of defeat need not remain a mystery. It was not an inborn trait; it could be acquired.”
Martin Seligman, “Learned Optimism: How To Change Your Mind And Your Life”
Hundred Years Publishing is working with ‘The Resilience of Being’. An upcoming anthology looking for creative non-fiction submissions of people’s experiences with their body image.
“I spent a lot of time babysitting [my siblings] as a teenager and I think it’s been a challenge for me to separate out feeling like I’m a parent to them.”
This has often caused rifts between the siblings into adulthood, Rosenfeld says. “I’ve always been somebody who thinks it’s my job to offer help, care, and advice even when it’s not asked for.”
How does someone learn that becoming self-reliant is safer than trusting others? Nakazawa believes that in destructive parentification, “you don’t have a reliable adult to turn to.” And if a child’s early experiences at home consisted of making sure everyone else’s needs were met, then the “child doesn’t feel seen.
This sense of responsibility and compulsive caretaking can follow them into future relationships as well. “You tend to project it onto other people in your life,” Rosenfeld says. This isn’t surprising, claims Jenny Macfie, an associate director of clinical training at the University of Tennessee and another prominent parentification researcher, as “adults who report role confusion in their childhoods may have difficulty with their identity development,” and this in turn, can affect a person’s romantic relationships.
We’re only beginning to understand the interplay between sibling dynamics, parental neglect, and health outcomes later in life. We need to see more research on prevention and treatment options.
Cementa22 is just around the corner and the emergency blankets are nearly ready. Here are some detail shots of each blanket and one detail shot of the mylar backing.
I will be exhibiting these blankets and performing live at Combamalong Studios as part of my Emergency Blankets project for Carnivale Catastrophe @carnivale_catastrophe, presented by Modern Art Projects Blue Mountains @modernartprojects at Cementa22 @cementafestival 19-22 May, 2022.
Carnivale Catastrophe is proudly assisted by the Australian Government @ausgov through the Festivals Australia program, Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal @frrr_aus, and NAB Foundation @nab. Emergency Blankets is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW @creatensw.
Curator: Fiona Davies Exhibition Manager: Lizzy Marshall Invited Artists: Fiona Davies, Rhonda Dee, Beata Geyer, Anne Graham, Tom Isaacs, Kenneth Lambert, Sean O’Keeffe, Ebony Secombe.
