Iris
Burgering-Jacobs.
The question that guided my sustained investigation was how to portray my experience of depression, passing through the different stages between onset and recovery.
I began my investigation at the origin of my depression which was triggered from my body image issues. The hate I felt for myself and my life made me feel like someone else was controlling me (Image 2.) Image 3 shows me at rock bottom, overwhelmed and feeling like I was drowning. In the next few images, I begin to rise to the surface as I start to heal. The koi fish in 7 and 8 represent the yin and yang of life and symbolize that I was finally able to see the good, as well as the bad. Image 9 represents how beauty is in the eye of the beholder and our perceptions are what create our realities. Finally in Image 10 I am able to accept myself, my conflicts and my body, and every defect there is to it. I used glitter over my stretch marks to show the beauty there is in things that might otherwise be seen as ugly or imperfect.
