"Loss of identity" by Tuleen Al Saket

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Identity is the main aspect of a person; it can be developed and created over time due to personal experiences. These experiences shape your identity and can affect it either positively or negatively depending on how we deal with them. The main link to identity is mental health; due to these experiences, the individual may lose his identity either fully or partially, resulting in melancholy and the individual being disturbed from a psychological aspect.

I have created this body of the work due to the fact that I am interested in psychology, and wanted to raise awareness about the effect of losing your identity due to bottling up your feelings and being unable to express them. Some of my pieces are a bit creepy and unusual to some viewers and might lead them to question the meaning of the work, which is exactly what I want to achieve. I want people to think about the reasons why people lose their identity from any point of view leading to them being disturbed from a psychological aspect. The pieces are a clear representation of my thinking processes of how art can be an amazing form of communication. My body of work is supposed to trigger feelings of the audience that some didn’t know they had. Presenting this will change their perception regarding the psychological repercussions people suffer from being disturbed.

My main inspiration for the works I have created are the artists Francis Bacon, Vincent van Gogh, Salvador Dali, and Albrecht Durer; which demonstrated cases that evoked the art world and led art critics to a point of realization that our mental, emotional, and rational state can greatly affect our expression and intensify its purpose and genuity. Their artworks greatly impacted my conceptual and visual strength of my own artworks by creating a direct link between them. In addition to that, the environment around me influenced my work as I always observe and find inspiration in anything, it could be as simple as a bird flying or a cage or even eyes. Each has a symbolic meaning in life that gives artists inspiration. Visiting orphans and undertaking activities with visually impaired individuals led me to the realization that such circumstances actually do affect mental health and the way the individual perceives the world around them.

I used several techniques to achieve my goal and make my body of work stronger including monochromatic works, knifing, drawing, and sculpting. Each technique is carefully examined in order to give off a certain vibe and match with the meaning of the piece. My monochromatic works are made using dark tones creating a somber and melancholic mood, which is mainly what I want to express in my exhibition. Some materials used such as wires are used to create a chaotic effect and to signify emptiness. Screws are sharp and can represent pain and torture, and rocks are a well-known symbol throughout history; they are solid objects that depict a person’s stubborn nature and inflexible behavior which disables him from getting help to improve his psychological wellbeing. These days, people are becoming more open to the idea of seeking help which is reducing the amounts of people being disturbed from a psychological aspect.

My personal experiences influenced my body of work in a way. As a kid and teenager, I always tried to understand who I was, sometimes lost. However, as time moved forward, I viewed the world in a different light; it inspired me to help teenagers or children who are disturbed from a psychological aspect thinking they have lost their identity. After working on my comparative study, the artists and their works that I have discussed had a huge impact on my vision of the arts world. It made me realize the circumstances and experiences that the artist had to go through in order to think of such great, idea-packed pieces that have touched so many people's hearts.

The layout and display of my pieces are created in a way that tells a story, for example my two pieces “Profugus” and “Percussas pavore” are displayed in a way that shows the two figures looking at each other, horrified from what the society and disturbed mental health has done to them. The rest of my pieces consist of triptychs that have a significant meaning and enhance the visual impact thus creating a connection between my artworks and the viewers. After viewing my body of work, the audience should consider and understand that having psychological issues is normal and seeking help is the best way to avoid being disturbed as they saw in my exhibition the repercussions of this issue.

I used several techniques to achieve my goal and make my body of work stronger including monochromatic works, knifing, drawing, and sculpting. Each technique is carefully examined in order to give off a certain vibe and match with the meaning of the piece. My monochromatic works are made using dark tones creating a somber and melancholic mood, which is mainly what I want to express in my exhibition. Some materials used such as wires are used to create a chaotic effect and to signify emptiness. Screws are sharp and can represent pain and torture, and rocks are a well-known symbol throughout history; they are solid objects that depict a person’s stubborn nature and inflexible behavior which disables him from getting help to improve his psychological wellbeing. These days, people are becoming more open to the idea of seeking help which is reducing the amounts of people being disturbed from a psychological aspect.

My personal experiences influenced my body of work in a way. As a kid and teenager, I always tried to understand who I was, sometimes lost. However, as time moved forward, I viewed the world in a different light; it inspired me to help teenagers or children who are disturbed from a psychological aspect thinking they have lost their identity. After working on my comparative study, the artists and their works that I have discussed had a huge impact on my vision of the arts world. It made me realize the circumstances and experiences that the artist had to go through in order to think of such great, idea-packed pieces that have touched so many people's hearts.

The layout and display of my pieces are created in a way that tells a story, for example my two pieces “Profugus” and “Percussas pavore” are displayed in a way that shows the two figures looking at each other, horrified from what the society and disturbed mental health has done to them. The rest of my pieces consist of triptychs that have a significant meaning and enhance the visual impact thus creating a connection between my artworks and the viewers. After viewing my body of work, the audience should consider and understand that having psychological issues is normal and seeking help is the best way to avoid being disturbed as they saw in my exhibition the repercussions of this issue.