Creating real and imaginary intimate spaces for women through the medium of sculpture and installation

Our lives are multi-faceted. People live as part of a wider social environment but they also inhabit their own, personal, intimate space. These public and private existences are integrated into each persons life. Even though people are social beings, we all need a space that is just ours. In this space we store our most precious joys and deepest sorrows. Intimate space. A space of security, peace and comfort, as well as a space for processing negative, experiential content. Having this space is a necessity. If we lack it, we find ways to compensate for it, and each individual does so in a completely unique way. Just as intimacy is not only sexuality, intimate spaces are not only physical spaces. The notion of intimate space is essentially something utterly abstract, complex, and multifaceted. Intimate space can be so many things; it can be a state that we are in, it can be a person, intimate space can be a certain activity or creative process, intimate space can be a certain object or just a moment of solitude and peace. In my thesis, I focused mainly on the contrast between the intimate spaces of older women living in rural areas and younger, highly educated women living in cities. Today the differences between the intimate spaces of women and men are considerably smaller; in the past there was a deep gap between them, however, as more women emancipated themselves and were less controlled, they became more empowered to find their own space and peace. In my thesis I will also write a lot about intimacy in creation and art, and about the intimate spaces of the artist. Art is not only about the visible, but also about the invisible world, as art is a complex phenomenon that arises from both rational and emotional foundations. Through his or her creative processes, the artist translates not only nature, but also his or her latest emotions, abstract concepts and internal processes. I will also explore my own creative processes