Grounded is a cyanotype series created as an artistic response to the overwhelming change in life since the 2019 pandemic. The changes the UK has faced, even in the most recent weeks, feel chaotic and overwhelming. How do we stay realistic in facing reality without fear consuming us? How do we healthily manage anxiety whilst navigating our futures? Personally, having the quiet calm of nature provides a stillness and peace that I can escape too, even if it is just for an hour.
Grounded is a product of using art to process a chaotic mind and an attempt to manage my own anxieties in a time where even that feels impossible.
Over the course of 7 weeks, each time I felt overwhelmed I would visit a local river and ‘ground’ myself whilst creating a cyanotype. It is inspired by the technique learnt in therapy where you activate the five senses to stay in a present mindset and reduce panic, the second step in this ‘grounding’ method is to name four things you can touch. I used this stage as an opportunity to create a piece of art, standing and touching the earth/ river before touching and transferring what my hands felt to the cyanotype paper. I would leave my papers to dry whilst completing the grounding technique, once calm, I would return and rinse my paper, travel home to dry them and continue with my day.
The method of cyanotype was chosen because of its distinctive blue appearance, which is a colour that is associated with open spaces, freedom and stability. In my opinion, these are qualities that are the opposite to what life currently feels like and represents that despite the chaos of life, there are moments of relief, peace and hope.
