COLLECTION NAME:
Fine and Performing Arts Visual Arts Senior Theses
Record
Creator Name:
Taylor Swaney
Creator culture:
American
Creator note:
Artist Statement: The Lashing Art Anxiety and depression have always been a factor in my life where I felt out of control. My emotions were scrambling around all while shutting out my own self-care. I started working with photographs and drawings involving murder scenes and other obscure themes to fully represent what is going on in my head. Whenever I have an idea for a murder scene, I find myself pouring in all of my pent-up emotions and experiences into these murder scenes, like I am ridding myself, or more literally killing off an emotionally damaging experience that I had. Mental health being represented by art is a common theme, but I wanted to approach the subject in a different manner where censorship is not a concern. I noticed that my work was leaning towards these bloody narratives, and I was unsure of why I enjoyed making these grotesque images. I realized that my anxiety and depression were a major factor in creating them. These images with the poison made from flowers are a symbol of my mental health. I am a generally sweet person, but on the inside, my mind is clouded with trauma and intrusive thinking, which typically includes thoughts about death. In my pieces, there are motifs of chemical structures of the toxins found in poisonous flowers. I use these dark thoughts and I manifest them into these grotesque scenarios. Thanks anxiety! Creating this mystery game in my art is not only a release of my experiences but having all of these images strung together are also a way for me to analyze and learn from those experiences, all while giving myself a complete evaluation of my anxiety at the time. Part of the mystery is to solve the murders, but my overall goal is to determine my current strain of mental health. The intrusive thoughts that I experience on a daily are distressing. My art is also representative of how rampant these thoughts are, especially while they are being displayed with strings and evidence. They are crazy, pointing in different directions, different colors, etc. It definitely messes with you, almost as much as it messes with me on a dail
Creator pronouns:
She/Her/Hers
Graduation class:
Class of 2022
Work type:
drawings (visual works)
Work type:
digital art (visual works)
Work type:
photographs
Date:
2022
Title:
Miss Cherry's Email
Description:
Miss Cherry's desperate email to Mr. Rainy regarding the death of her friend, Miss Belladonna and wanting the newpaper to do something about it.
Creation location:
Denver, Colorado, United States
Measurements:
8.5/11
Rights:
� Taylor Swaney
Source:
Regis Library - Archives and Special Collections
