The artwork was made during my studies of MA Embroidery at Manchester Metropolitan University. At this time, I undertook in-depth research around the lived experiences of people with mental illness. This included a visit to the Mental Health Museum in Wakefield and my own primary research of 25 self-written questionnaires. These were designed to collect data about how a cross-section of people would describe their relationship to their illness.
The resulting artwork inspired by this research, manifested in wearable sculptures and an accompanying book. The sculptures were photographed to show their relationship to the body. They featured weights on the shoulders, ties and knots around the neck which restricted movement, demonstrating the sculptures’ uncomfortableness. This made the person wearing them feel some of the physical side effects expressed by the participants.
My aim was to share the perspectives of these sometimes-misheard voices by visualising their invisible feelings and sharing their perspectives. I was inspired by the participants creative drawings, their poetry and their feelings described in their own words in answer to my questions.