in-between-ness

Think about the way mental illness is represented on film. You probably think of Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

 

But, 30 years on from the genre-defining film, two NorthWalian artists are offering a fresh take on a taboo subject.

 

Karen Heald, experimental filmmaker and Honorary Research Fellow in Social Sciences at Bangor University, has collaborated with Susan Liggett, painter and Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Glyndŵr University, to create in-between-ness.

 

The exhibition, previewed as part of the currentInternational Conference on Internet Technologies & Applications (ITA13) hosted by Glyndŵr University, uses painting, film stills and moving image to capture a sense of self.

 

The state of in-between-ness, suggests Karen is one, “Whereby the audience is unsure as to whether one is asleep, awake, or even in a state of in-between-ness”.

 

“Working with people as an artist, I was interested in time and how different people perceive a sense of time,” said Karen. “Maybe within mental health you may get a different sense of time.”

 

Mental health has been subject to exploitation in the past and remains a much- misunderstood issue. But, Speaking at the launch of a research paper to accompany the exhibition as part of ITA13, Susan described how collaborating between film, art and science had benefitted the participants.

 

“We’ve involved the participants all along. The work is anonymous and we’ve used pseudonyms for reasons of medical ethics but we don’t see them as any different to anyone else,” said Karen. 

 

“We treat them as fellow artists really,” she added.

 

Dan Wilson, exhibition attendee, was impressed by the exhibition. He said: “The work was very interesting. I really enjoyed the variety of sounds, giving an ambient feel to the room.”

 

As for future collaborations? “We would like to see this as a pilot study we would like to take further,” 

 

“We’re looking to apply for funding for a larger scale research project and build upon the findings of this project,” said Susan. 

For more information visit in-between-ness.co.uk.