WORDS OF WISDOM

April 22-26, 2024

A Visual Arts MFA thesis exhibiton by Emma Feliciano.

As someone living with anxiety, I am frustrated by the hollow phrases people say in an attempt to quickly pacify a situation, instead of listening to me. I use text-based art so that these phrases can no longer be ignored or seen as the solutions to mental health crises. Words of Wisdom is a series of text-based artworks that encourage the viewer to reflect on the language they use when responding to or discussing mental health issues.

I began the project by asking people “What is the worst advice you have ever received during a mental health crisis?” Responses to this question provide the source material for the text in each piece. Despite good intentions, these statements demonstrate a lack of understanding and sensitivity towards mental health issues. I confront the viewer with large, colourful, and disorienting versions of these phrases to convey their inanity.

Each piece features vibrant colours and abstracted text. The text is intended to be difficult to read and takes on a camouflaging effect in some of the pieces. This camouflage effect references the everyday strategies people engage to conceal - or camouflage - their own struggles with mental health. The combination of the intense hues and illegible text simulates the disorientation experienced during a panic attack. I create each piece to be overstimulating because I want my viewer to feel as frustrated looking at the work, as the person who received the advice felt.

Emma Feliciano