My practice operates across different disciplines within the realm of sculpture, installation and writing. The work speaks in poetic forms, of dreamscapes and memories, falling in and out of heterotopias, considering the position of systems of order and belief. I combines found objects with writing and craft, drawing on intimate memories and collective nostalgia within British culture.
My practice is consistently informed by how space can be philosophised as utopia, dystopia and heterotopia, a reference to a concept by Michel Foucault. I use this to understand order and behaviour in space, and how a particular group of heterotopias can bring comfort, happiness and escapism. It is interesting to also consider how happiness is constructed politically and socially; whilst building on Sara Ahmed’s writing, happiness may be understood as something to obtain, promised to us, and an experience changeable due to class and culture. The significance of belief systems and order is also central to my practice in exploring our cultural understanding of happiness, hope and wishes, whilst also the comfort it brings. I am particularly interested in contemporary structures such as astrology which form a collective voice to influence and guide our relationships whilst inspiring us to construct identities amongst the blurring of fictional and non-fictional narratives.
With regards to the work’s domestic influences, I like to also consider the act of daydreaming and remembering, how memory is constructed, and physically how objects of an interior space change and move through time, and then become romanticised. I often collect objects that evoke a nostalgia, combining this with cathartic craft such as tufting, ceramic and writing. My practice seeks to embody and understand nostalgia, interested in how it offers a sense of community and belonging to culture and generation, considering the role of storytelling through families and social media.
Eleanor McLean 