Alchemy & Motion - Video

ALCHEMY & MOTION:Transmuting Pain into Beauty

“Suffering is justified as soon as it becomes the raw material of beauty.” - Jean-Paul Sartre.

Since my early teens, I have battled severe depression. In 2009, I reached the lowest point in my life and came face to face with the idea of committing suicide. During this incredibly challenging and emotional time I kept a journal, tracing my dark journey.

Embracing the principles of Sartre’s philosophy, I created this work to examine the relationship between emotion and sound for the purpose of transmuting pain into something beautiful.

During the time of these journal entries, my depression was soul crushing, debilitating and life destroying. I was driven to create this work, not only as a cathartic experience, but also as a way of acknowledging my depression and to create a positive and empowering experience for myself.

Through this project, I explore the idea that my suffering, as a raw material, can be directly used to create artworks of beauty. Utilising my personal journal entries, which have been turned into audio recordings and the use of cymatics, the process of creating visible sound vibrations through the use of materials such as sand or liquid on a thin membrane or other transmittable surface, I have created this body of work.

The completed work is presented in two parts:

Part 1 - Video Installation
The video installation displays hypnotic and often chaotic patterns and is accompanied by an audio soundtrack comprised of extracts from my journal. During the film the viewer is met with a beautiful, pulsating and transfixing array of shapes and forms while being confronted with my most painful emotion experiences.

Part 2 - Print Installation
These high speed images were created as the paint responded to the augmented sounds of my emotional pain. The series is exhibited with the soundtrack playing, whilst the viewer is engaging with the work. Visual elements within the images resonate with my experiences with deep depression, such as the shallow depth of field mimicking the oft felt lack of clarity in my highly emotional and manic state.

I now want to share my journey with others to help raise awareness and encourage people to begin the discussion about depression.


Jason Bran-Cinaed