I must have a dark side 2021
I must have a dark side also if I am to be whole. The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely. How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow?
These are some of the quotes by Carl Jung that feature in this new body of work created site-specifically for the Barracks exhibition space. Jung was the psychiatrist credited with founding analytic psychology and the terms introvert and extravert, synchronicity, archetypes and the collective unconscious. His words are printed on fabric banners against a background of clouds and cloud-like formations. They hang high towards the ceiling, a bit like washing on a line, hoisted out of reach to dry in the wind and the sun. But the words on these banners are about internal rather than external experiences, reflecting on the history of the Barracks as a psychiatric hospital. Jung’s statements capture the complexity of the individual self, and advocate looking inward to understand the true nature of our identity. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. While there is reference here to the treatment of mental illness, the quotes themselves have broader relevance and offer advice about how to achieve a state of wholeness by accepting not only the light and the good, but the dark side of the self.
Details
Derwent Valley Arts
New Norfolk, Tasmania
Works by BrigitaOzolins, Michaela Petersfield and Philip Sulidae.
Exhibition curated by Michelle Dracoulis
7 - 22 August 2021
15 x digital prints on fabric
Each print 70 x 100 cm
Image Credits: Michelle Dracoulis