Fragmented Identity
Rachel Elven
This painting is inspired by a woman who had suffered a stroke. I chose to paint the face in a style that would represent the isolation and loneliness she experienced during her gradual recovery. Using fragmented brush strokes and a monochrome palate I tried to convey the distance Jennifer felt both from her former self and from society.
I was inspired by the artist Giacometti and tried to adopt a similar style to the method he used when developing his famous, abstract stick-men sculptures. I selected linear brush strokes to produce a hazy, un-defined, face in order to convey Jennifer’s feelings of detachment and to imply her shifted sense of identity. I also chose to paint a wide-eyed, startled, blank expression, to represent her lack of control and vulnerability.
GP Attachment, 2011
I really enjoyed this piece- often after treatment doctors feel as thought their job is done but this piece shows that for the patient, post treatment life can sometimes be as disorientating and distressing as the initial illness. The media chosen and fragmented brush strokes help to capture this emotion and help viewers to empathise with stoke victims. This is an area of medicine that I had rarely considered before but this piece has made me reflect on the patient experience after leaving the hospital, or even whilst still being there but experiencing a completely unprecedented discomfort.