Have you ever felt nervous or experienced a sense of impending doom? When was the last time you were exhausted, overwhelmed, and constantly overthinking everything? Do you feel these symptoms while reading this? According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 13 people suffer from it globally. Anxiety disorders can stem from traumatic events, one’s personality, brain chemistry, and it may be passed down genetically.
Spanning from my great grandmother to my little brother, anxiety is passed down as an heirloom. As a family, we experience “high functioning” anxiety. People who suffer from this fluctuate between a pendulum of positive effects and adverse effects. Using acrylics and animations, this body of work reflects everyday battles with high-functioning anxiety.
Implementing a grayscale plagues the viewer with a feeling of detachment. Disassociating can be related to multiple mental illnesses but is usually felt after long periods of stress in people with anxiety. Red is used through each animation to embody the different effects of anxiety. One example being the constant button clicking in the painting Social Butterfly to represent constant procrastination. Over exaggerating each effect is strategically used in each artwork, such as in the dramatized bedroom setting or the length of the 40 foot to do list.
The style of these artworks is reminiscent of a graphic novel or friendly cartoon. An easier understanding of tense feelings is allowed without explicitly showing a stressful environment. Inspired by how a venus fly trap draws in its prey for consumption, viewers are drawn in by these friendly artworks. Viewers are then hit with the realization of what high-functioning anxiety feels like to those who experience it daily.
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