Shells

About

The two, interweaving moving-image installations celebrate uniqueness and acceptance for people who live with mental health conditions.

The first installation, entitled ‘blinds’, will feature footage of a young girl (Hattie Gotobed, who plays Ghita in Game of Thrones), and an older man (Dean Kilbey, an experienced television and film actor) debating the existence and prominence of their own “shells”. This video work sees a man in dialogue with a youth about our exact moment in time. The man bridges both the analogue and digital age and also the reality before, and our current digital realities. The video itself will then be projected onto venetian blinds, which represent the fact that we view reality through our own imperfect perceptions.

The second installation, which is called ‘nets’, is a more direct exploration of the stigma surrounding

mental illness, which looks at famous people throughout history who suffered from mental illness,

featuring stock imagery projected onto ragged nets. This installation features a voice-over by Nigel Bradshaw (Dennis Cruickshank in Prisoner: Cell Block H).

“At the Arts Council we believe that art and culture enhance every part of our lives. They bring us joy, and help us to make sense of our own experiences and to empathise with others. So we’re very pleased to be supporting Shells through our National Lottery funded Grants for the arts programme, a project that will explore new ways of presenting often undiscussed fundamental issues.”

Phil Gibby, Area Director, South West, Arts Council England

Shells is supported by Tec Hub Eastleigh and public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

James Paddock is an Associate of the Digital Arts Programme Eastleigh.