Ian Chae
The King's School
BEAUTIFUL ANXIETY
Textile and Fibre
Soft sculpture
Admitting to having a mental health condition still carries negative connotations despite all the awareness and research. My body of work expresses anxiety and other mental disorders as beautiful flaws, part of one’s identity, something that makes you … you. Realising that everyone in some way experiences anxiety dismantles the common misconception that mental disorders are only for the few. Representing personal symptoms that I have experienced as different types of suit jackets and a blanket, my intent is to demonstrate that anxiety is like clothes: without them you are naked; without them you are not yourself.
Marker's Commentary
Beautiful Anxiety is a complex, conceptually rich and poignant work peppered with wit and humour to entice the audience. Symbolic references and motifs are subtle and layered in their ability to metaphorically suggest a personal vision of an enduring daily struggle with a mental health condition. Presented as a series of highly resolved and crafted objects, the bespoke construction of the suit jackets conceptualises the pervasiveness of the narrative which is given focus and tension through a pared back aesthetic, restrained use of colour and the innovative device of printed and appliqued text. Highly sophisticated in its minimalist approach, the work commands a sophisticated understanding of how to load objects with conceptual resonance. Postmodern strategies establish the work's position within the artworld and provide insight and connection to the practice of significant artists to further ideas. By virtue of a complex and sophisticated material handling the conceptualised account of anxiety established within the work is open to endless possibilities. The body of work is a triumph in artistic conceptual practice.