Clare Lyons
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| Room 3 / (2016) My work is always closely aligned with and often a direct representation of my current mental state. I suffer with bipolar disorder, and for a period of time between the end of 2014 and mid 2015, my life was in turmoil. The Tallaght Mental Health Centre, or Sheaf House, witnessed and housed this period of time. This work is concerned with my personal experience of the space as I move forward through the ongoing treatment of my illness. The piece explores the capacity a space can have in the preservation of a time, a feeling, or a state of mind. Sheaf House will always be somewhere that has seen my lowest of lows and highest of highs, through both recovery and relapse. When photographing Sheaf House I focus on capturing the nuances of duality, duplicity and disorder that exist both in my mind and in the space itself. Through the chaos of my mind, this space has remained one that is calm and still, full of absence, a constant contradiction. For me, Sheaf House remains a place which is both clinical yet homely, welcoming yet sterile, safe but full of uncertainty. |