Persisting Panic
The journalist, Hunter S. Thompson claimed, “There is no such thing as paranoia. Your worst fears can come true at any moment.”.
If there is one emotion that all humanity understands, it’s fear. Fear and anxiety can be crippling occurrences, that others may find harmless. These fears we call phobias. A phobia can be anything from the fear of the dark (nyctophobia), the fear of water (thalassophobia) or the fear of losing oneself (autophobia). In this exhibit, artists put their phobias on display. Each artist captures the essence of their fears and presents them so that the audience may feel dread, unnerved, and may come to understand the phobia.
Fear Beyond
Human Control
As powerful as humans are, we cannot stop everything from happening. We are left to face things as they come. Sometimes, things are fine, while other times it can end in a disaster. Isn't it only natural to fear the things we can't control?
This collection explores fears of the world around us.
Who's there?
By Anna Piper
Digital Photography
March 2024
The darkness makes me feel claustrophobic and closed in. I fear what may be lurking in the dark, the Evil that can’t be seen.
Thalassophobia
—
Light pulled by the murky sea Through the dark with an unheard plea. A void beneath, shadow lies
A world in which my fear resides.
As all of my fears surround, My heart races, a thumping sound. Eyes strain in the inky night, An attempt to combat my fright.
Uncertain of what’s below,
I fight to stay with what I know, The world above, open air, Out from the sea I cannot bear.
Thalassophobia
By Jeannine Palardy
Freestyle Poetry
March 2024
When writing my poem, I initially found it quite difficult to write about something I find terrifying, as it tends to be something I try to think about as little as possible. It seemed odd to me to take something so awful and try to turn it into something beautiful. What I found helped the writing process was imagining exactly what it is about open water that frightens me. It is the unseen depths, and the unknown that lives inside them, that I find to be particularly frightening. It was this image of the deep dark ocean that I tried to capture in my poem in order to convey exactly what it is that I find so terrifying about the ocean.
Listed from top to bottom
The Shipwreck
Foggy Waters
The Bridge
By Trevor Westlake
Digital Photography
These photographs depict the fear of Kenophobia as seen in Thalassophobia. All of these photographs were taken while alone. It can be a scary thing as if no one is around, the water can kill you.
Rollercoaster
By Freddy Smith
Concrete Poetry
March 2024
When I was in middle school, a coaster ride at an amusement park in Colorado malfunctioned. At the end of the track, my car's speed didn't decrease, causing it to rear-end the car that had stopped in front of it. The seatbelt and guard saved my life, but also broke most of my left ribcage.
I had never liked rollercoasters much: I thought they were too boring. Where's the thrill if you know there's nothing to be frightened of? Now on the other hand…
Fear of Ourselves
A common struggle for anyone is how to identify themselves. Who or What really are we? Sometimes we can over analyze ourselves and that may lead to madness. Other times we fear what we could be. We may end up chosing to depersonalize. Fear could grip our hearts or we may scream back. This collection focuses on the fears of the artist's self, and explores the responses the artist may have to their fears.
Regression
By Connor Westlake
Digital Art
April 2024
The purpose of this piece is to demonstrate my own struggle with self-identity and change. Using very basic drawing techniques, while detailing the more important and defining features, the first image expands on this idea. The second image establishes my slow progression into madness throughout it all, with bright and somewhat jarring colour, while still feeling more full than the first image through more defining features, so as to suggest a greater plane of inner searching. The third image is the most jarring, due mostly to its unfamiliarity with the rest of the composition, and interprets a desperate attempt to be even slightly recognizable, with a simple yet abstract approach to the original portrait. The final image is blank, which creates tension, and exposes a total loss of hope and fear for the future, as it is unclear what is to follow.
the man in the mirror
By Robbie Simpson
Acrylic on MDF Board, Ink on Cardboard
36 x 20"
Depersonalization refers to a sense of detachment within one’s sense of self; Derealization refers to a feeling of detachment from one’s world and surroundings. Your mind is out of your body, completely on auto-pilot, and you’ve lost all sense of control over your own thoughts. Feeling like something is terribly wrong with the reality that surrounds you is terrifying. This painting represents my personal experience with this out-of-body dissociation, it speaks to the fear of losing control, falling victim to your escapism, and the uncertainty of whether or not it will ever end.
Autophobia
By Teagan Stewart
Oil on Canvas
36"x24"
I have a phobia of not achieving the self, an existential fear that I will not fulfil my full potential and will have failed at life. It feels as if I can see the potential paths and the decisions I have to make that will lead to different outcomes, causing extreme anxiety in the face of any decision, big or small. The ungainly figures crawling across the canvas represent my potential selves, both dragging each other down and pulling each other up across a background of old Salem Witch Trial newspaper articles, the written words creating a haunting reminder of my ancestor's nightmarish life, a pariah nearly hung, leaving sisters behind. The many paths that led to her trial, sentence to hanging, and her flight to Canada, could have easily led to her sharing her sisters' fate: death at the gallows.
Rage of Fear
By Kellie Mattatall
Fumage on Stonehenge
4ft x 4ft
Acrophobia and Gephyrophobia have led to a long journey of navigating in and through these experiences for the artist. In this artwork, the technique and size are employed to viscerally depict phobia manifesting as an overwhelming inferno of anger, capturing the intricate interplay between these potent emotions. Rage of fear delves into the multifaceted nature of fear, revealing its often transformative journey. It offers insights into the profound turmoil experienced by those grappling with phobias, portraying the intrinsic struggle for control inherent in the human psyche. The technique of Fumage, created using the smoke from a candle or kerosene lamp, serves as a poignant metaphor here, symbolizing how the fire of phobia incessantly smolders beneath the surface of consciousness.
heartless
By Kathryn Zhang
Intaglio Zinc Etching
7 x 9" (Zinc plate), 11 x 15" (Hahnemuhle Paper
"heartless" delves into the idea of fear and vulnerability. The human heart is a symbol of love and emotion. It is stripped of its usual connotations as it lays bare and exposed. The centipede, a creature that evokes discomfort, is coiled around the heart. This arthropod embodies the creeping sensation of fear as it intrudes upon our most intimate and delicate parts. The juxtaposition of this fragile organ and the unsettling arthropod provokes contemplation on the nature of fear and its profound impact on the human experience.
Who's Running This Machine?
By Rachel Van Egmond
Oil Painting on MDF
24 x 30"
2023
After battling with nightmares and vivid dreams, I was left wondering at how my own brain could trick and frighten me. Who’s Running This Machine is an exploration of psychological architecture, reflecting on the horrifying truth that we are more than our brains are conscious of. After continually being the villain in my own nightmares, this self portrait depicts me reflecting on my own destructive potential. The fear of self, of the unconscious, and of harmful urges position this piece, and the looming darkness and neurological imagery contextualize it.