Grace Stones
Loughborough University Degree Show, 2018
187 Hours, 240 x 657cm, Graphite and Charcoal on Paper
Upon first sight it is impossible to understand ‘187 hours’ within a mental health context. However, through Cognitive Defusion it is suggested that repeating a negative thought it loses it meaning, and can be defused from the mind. Although the work is initially understood as a drawing, it is comprised of one intrusive thought written over and over again in graphite, creating dense obsessive marks, which are no longer able to be interpreted as text.
Furthermore, Acceptance enables a physicalization of the feelings created by the anxiety. The work directly respond to the site, inviting the viewer to enter its space, and be surrounded by it, representing the dominance of the thought. The reflections shown on the graphite surface display subtle images of the viewer and, change in response to its environment, allowing for an understanding of the disruptions in the process of coping with mental health daily.