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object I have chosen:

Hand-wash position sculptures- Jo Harrison

This piece reflects on excessive and anxiety induced hand washing which increased especially during the covid19 pandemic. The artist created these sculptures as a means to guide and soothe the user through the various hand washing positions. The reason I have chosen this piece is because I have a history with OCD and I too have suffered (and still occasionally do) from excessive hand washing, stemming from outside stress factors to the point where my hands were in a constant state of bleeding and cracking. This habit and anxiety of mine peaked with the pandemic and was by far the most mentally challenging year. Thus, with my experience in the given subject, I know that many times the reason behind excessive hand washing isn’t necessarily logical, it is just a means to cope with other stress factors the individual faces. This piece really struck a chord with me as it made me question the deeper meanings it may evoke. Although the intention was to soothe the user by guiding them through these unhealthy habits, it also promotes continuation in this unhealthy habit. To me it feels like a physical manifestation of all my anxieties and the dormant control they can have in people’s lives, forcing them and shaping them into specifically sculpted routines with no means of escape. For this reason, I want my exhibition to focus on breaking and destroying both the physical and mental barriers of this disease, liberating oneself.

Site:

As my given site I chose a ferry travelling the Bosphorus in Istanbul. I thought it was fitting since the exhibition consists of a spiritual journey of self-healing and the ferry itself constitutes of a physical journey from one continent to another. Moreover, superstitions and reacting to them with certain routines are a big part of Turkish culture and when the pandemic hit, people didn’t know how to cope with the fear and anxiety of a dangerous/unknown virus and resorted to superstitious and excessive methods such as going through bottles of rubbing alcohol in a matter of days or wearing 3-4 masks at the same time. Thus, the exhibition will highlight not going overboard in anxious everyday situations

Who do you want to use the space and what do you want them to do?

The space will be accessible to anyone who wants to cross the Bosphorus but will have a person per ride limit. I thought it would be most effective if people were to randomly stumble upon this ride as it will cause them to unexpectedly detach from their busy lifestyles for a short period of time and focus their attention on themselves. As well as being a very common way to travel between locals, the ferries on the Bosphorus are also a big tourist attraction so the exhibition will have a global reach in that sense.

The exhibition will consist of three floors, each highlighting a transition in the healing process. Visitors will start with the lowest floor which will be a dark and ominous room with a single dirty sink (reinforcing the need to clean) in the centre displaying the stones. The room is meant to imitate the underworld reflecting how our unhealthy habits drain us from the inside, slowly stripping away at our will to perform simple tasks and live a carefree life. There would be informational posters about the subject plastered on the walls. The first room is a starting point, providing awareness at the issue and visually demonstrating the harmful and isolating effects of excessive hand washing.

The second floor will be a room of mirrors filled with piles of soap casting copies of the original 6 sculptures. Visitors will need to wade through the piles and carefully select the 6 individual copies. The mirrors force people to look at themselves and self-reflect all the while causing a sense of disorientation which demonstrates the eventual transition between unhealthy and healthy.

The third floor will be the upper deck

Function?

The exhibition is essentially a self-healing workshop and promotes healthy ways to cope with everyday stress through the destruction of the hand sculptures.

Reflection

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