We exist and interact within an ever-changing multitude of spaces – both real and imagined – that surround us everyday. The concept of my thesis exhibition is to visually represent three areas of mental space where human activity occurs: the space of the body, the space around the body, and the space of navigation. As we travel, we subconsciously collect and store sensory information which forms a cognitive map – actually more of an abstract collage rather than a cohesive, cartographic map. This map helps us to navigate or interact more effectively within our everyday spaces, even though the information is not remembered as a whole. Instead, our memories perceive and retain the sensory information as abstract fragments of aesthetic perception and emotional experience. These sensuous experiences develop our understanding of space, for as we create emotional territories – we begin to define them subjectively as places. It is within these mental areas that we define our identities and construct our own realities. As we gain a sense of where we are in the space, we then can begin to understand who we are. These concepts form the basis and guidelines for the creative processes in my thesis work.
My thesis exhibition is an abstract representation of sensuous geographies and a visual model of cognitive perceptions. In the space of the body, I am presenting a three-dimensional model of my mental self-image through direct body casting. Presented in fragmented human form, this model explores the role that environment has in shaping our identity and our bodies. The space around the body captures the sensuous geographies of my everyday spaces as an abstract collage on the wall – consisting of both 2D and 3D mixed media, puzzle-shaped fragments. These fragments reference intuitive geographic landmark knowledge from my mental maps and create for me – a sense of place. The space of navigation – the space we travel to or journey through – is remembered in a two dimensional, abstract form, which is why I use photography to represent these slice of life moments of the past.
Through a re-examination of my everyday spaces, I attempt to recapture sensory information and transform its essence into sculptural fragments, each representing a pause or moment from my journey through space. My thesis installation offers many sustained glances from my environment for the viewer to observe and perhaps for them to consider where their own personal pauses in life exist.