The fragmentary self - a study of the psychology that colours and shapes my world

This research paper is an exploration of the self in the context of self-representation through a visual language of motifs and symbols. To uncover the self, communicate and translate my ideas and thoughts I have developed a series of somewhat ambiguous images. I perceive that certain imagery can communicate what language or words cannot, consequently the role and power of the image are central to my psyche and to my art practice. It is through layers in a visual context that I explore my internal psychic landscape (my thoughts and behavioural patterns). Specific artworks by James Gleeson, Vincent Van Gogh, Francis Bacon, Francisco Goya and Jake and Dinos Chapman are referenced and analyzed in the context of their influence on my art practice. I am drawn to these artists’ sense of the macabre and the absurd. My research has offered some insight into my repetitive creative sensibilities. I have referenced the theoretical writing of Sigmund Freud in ‘A Note Upon The “Mystic Writing Pad”, Jason W. Brown in ‘On Aesthetic Perception’ and the philosophical essay ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’ by Albert Camus which resonate with my interwoven psyche, art and life