Anxiety
Visual Arts 2025 Graduate ExhibitionPresentation by Robert Botchway
Exhibition Number 304
Abstract
As a music producer and artist, I delve into the intricate relationship between emotions and musical expression, exploring how music becomes both a reflection of and a remedy for inner turbulence. My creative process is deeply personal, serving as a means to soothe my own anxiety. I view music as "an antidote to itself" a paradoxical force that emerges from a place of unease yet possesses the power to restore calm. It mirrors the experience of over-caring, of anticipating something going wrong, only to find solace in the very act of creation. In my artistic practice, I extend this concept beyond sound, blending fragments of musical instruments with abstract ceramic sculptures. These hybrid forms evoke the familiarity of traditional instruments while pushing into uncharted territory, challenging perceptions of both sound and form. Through this fusion, I seek to materialize the tension between contortion and calmness between the chaotic energy of anxiety and the meditative stillness that music provides.
Importance
"8 Octaves" presents an abstract face precisely scaled to the dimensions of an 88-key piano keyboard, creating a visual dialogue between human emotion and musical structure. The piece suggests that our emotional depth mirrors the full spectrum of musical expression, bridging the physical and the auditory. "Busk Man" reflects my personal experience of finding tranquility through music amid overwhelming crowds. It embodies sound as a sanctuary a focal point of calm within chaos capturing the way music carves out moments of stillness in the rush of everyday life. Across these works, I layer spray paint to mimic wood grain, blurring the line between organic and artificial materials. The sculptures appear almost alive not quite wood, yet not entirely something else existing in an in-between space where the familiar meets the uncanny. Though silent, these pieces resonate with implied sound. They are like frozen fragments of music, waiting to be "heard" in the mind of the viewer. Each person might perceive a different melody, rhythm, or silence, and that ambiguity is precisely the point.