Since she was a young child, Jennifer Thoreson “wrestled with” anxiety. She would go to bed with the fear of being woken up by her mother.
She was worried that her parents might suffer a terrible fate overnight. She imagined anxiety as an adult artist. She knew that she would have to go beyond literal representations of the visceral experiences she was trying to depict.
Thoreson took the photo above of her pastor’s daughter and herself. She created the sculpture using silk, wax, and wool. Because it was so heavy, she built it piece-by-piece. She wrote, “It was an example of how you can take on weight slowly and not realize just how heavy it has become.” “When the weight was lifted at once, it was a relief that was immediate.”
Physical symptoms of psychological pain, fear and anxiety include headaches, chest tightness, fatigue and dizziness. Traditional photographic approaches may not be enough for some artists who have chosen to depict anxiety. They choose a more radical approach. This collection looks back at some of their stories.
Thoreson said in a interview that she thought making the photographs helped. It was catharsis for me to create the sculptures and installations, using my own hands to represent the weight of anxiety.