Inside The Mind

15 November 2021 - 11 April 2022

This series reflects on the lived experience of an empath, isolated during lockdown. Working from home has established a strong, virtually connected society; whilst mental health has been neglected. Tangible and sticky, clay remains the abundant material that underpins his endurance. Each form is inspired by the empath’s limited surroundings and the landscapes of neighbourhood.

Merging location, he collects scattered found materials. Processed. Crushed. Rocks become amalgamated into the sculptures. Surfaces captured in motion; the empath reveals his dialect. A subtle encrypted code expressing emotions that were once hoarded. Now conveyed.

How can I share thoughts with another,

whilst longing for freedom day?

Evaluating reality,

a natural trait disappearing.

How I yearn to embrace.

-R

Poetry Entry: Four White Walls

23 March 2020

A mass panic stirring

Gossip infects, whilst fear injects

Keeping a two metres distance

The natural calling to be near...

But he doesn't want to catch it

This is how it begun.

Those in power set the policies

At twilight all doors shut.

In disguise as a holiday

It develops as indoor imprisonment.

Time fragments

No planes in the sky

Outside seems eerie.

Daily cases, daily deaths

The toll saddens.

He keeps record of what has been touched

A claustrophobic response

Disinfecting all

Evolution of a dystopian future.

Daily routines duplicate

A cycle of no change.

The identical panorama of outdoor

Watched in his four white walls

Neighbours appear from afar

Chained by their daily rotations

Whilst he in his.

Compact in the social bubble

Mortals bicker inside.

From different worlds

Obeying and defying each other

Discussions that never change Silence only at night.

The cycle returns.

Seven hours ticked away

... But what did he achieve?

Hours of virtual attendance

No wonder a migraine appeared.

Stiff and skewed by emotion

Confinement distorts more ambition.