These Dark Shapes is a totem to a feeling. These shapes grew in the body, they grew and took up space. They grew roots, roots that they used to cling to my bones, but also walk around on. Sometimes they would leave, sometimes they would sit inside my ribcage and draw all of my attention.
So I decided to build them, outside of myself.
“And what shall we make ourselves from today? A memory, a seedling, a word? What can we hold up to the light and find despair has not yet touched?” – The Crying Book, Heather Christle
These Dark Shapes is a study into the burden of carrying around a secret; the heavy feeling you might experience while struggling under the weight of grief or sadness. These shapes have been built as a means to dispel this feeling from the body, as means to separate oneself from an overwhelming , clenched-fist, sensation.
Through sculpture, photography and drawing, White invites the viewer to imagine the shape of their feelings, the things they carry around with them day after day. Does it have shape you recognise? Does it have a colour? Can we create a shape that the helps us lighten the load, lessen the burden. Can the act of creating the feeling outside of ourselves, help us to overcome it, cast it away, or live alongside it in the next room.
Róisín White is a visual artist based in Dublin, working primarily with photography and sculpture, while incorporating drawing and collage into her practice. Róisín holds a degree in Photography from dit, and certificates in Ceramics and Sculpture from ncad. White’s work draws from archival and found materials, exploring modes of storytelling, as well as drawing from real and fictional experiences. Recent exhibitions include Picturing the Unseen, The Finnish Museum of Photography; Zeitgeist, Robert Capa Centre in Budapest, as well as solo shows at The Library Project and The Darkroom. Róisín was awarded an Emerging Artist Grant from dlr County Council in 2019, and a Dublin City Arts Office Bursary for a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre
Róisín White's exhibition These Dark Shapes will take place at Pallas Projects as part of Artist-Initiated Projects 2020–21.