Rachel Mallard

Rachel Mallard

“OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)”

Digital Photographs and video installation

Since I was born, it has been in my nature to straighten things, to colour co-ordinate, to clean, to rearrange random household objects. Through the exploration of  ‘Inner Sense’ and my personal ideologies, I found that this obsessive compulsiveness is more a part of my personality and childhood memories than what I had ever realised. This then became the main concept of my artwork entitled Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. My main concept is based around my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), an “anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear or worry” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive%E2%80%93compulsive_dis-order). Focusing on repetition, and obsessive behaviours, my artwork has become a focus on the portrayal of my emotions and actions whilst in this obsessive state. My artwork is a combination of photograph and a video. The photographs were taken of various household objects and materials, including: string, buttons, shoes, paper clips and numerous other items. Some of these I lined up straight, some colour co-ordinated, and others in patterns. Specific items that I chose relate back to my childhood. For instance, buttons, beads and texta pens symbolise objects that most people have used when they are children. The photographs printed onto A4 paper, are placed in rows over and over again on a blank wall, creating a sense of repetition similar to my OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). The video recorded throughout the creation of my photographs, has been sped up and muted to highlight the intense at times internal frustrations of my compulsions. This video was played in the centre of my photographs, providing the audience an experience of the anxiety and stress I feel whilst in an obsessive state.