Love Is

I commenced this work one night after another disappointing date arranged via online dating.

I have been deeply confronted seeking intimate connection in this new world. Expressions of intimacy, sex and people have become highly commodified. Objectification is the new common language. Your services are the currency. My Sound of Music dreams, laughable. Every exchange feels cheap and empty. Tap, tap, scroll.

The meaning of the symbol of the heart is both complex and tragically superficial. People discuss “fucking” like a transaction but we’re not being paid in cash, and we’re taking bigger risks to our lives and safety than ever before; Be sure to share your location, have your wing-woman on speed dial, share his online pic, search his online presence, is he married, how about convictions, check Is This Your Man, how well do you know this guy? Online dating? All this hard work and we’re a pause between his open porn tabs; Love is fucked.

Writing each layer in a different size and style with whatever materials I had to hand; a large piece of craft paper, biros, chalk, pencils, ink. Raw and real. Through this process of physical expression I became able to sit with the words and feelings of disillusionment, anxiety, loneliness, depression, grief. The process grounded me in a very honest and vulnerable human experience by bringing the feelings into tangible existence. The act of writing is genuine and connects you back into yourself. I now stand in front of the work and see a phone screen staring back at me, words hovering, like a black and white mirror. There is the hope for love and meaning and also something hiding behind it all. 

MEDIUM
craft paper, biros, chalk, pencils, ink.

DIMENSIONS
Approx. 200 x 150cm (Unframed)