EXTERNAL VOICES is based on my experience with major depressive disorder, an invisible, generally misunderstood, and stigmatized mental illness that permeates all aspects of a person’s life. These works reflect upon the ways many external observers offer often well-meaning but misguided and ultimately harmful advice for “dealing with” depression. I subvert the celebratory function of bunting, using it in a somber, ironic context that reflects many people's belief that depression can be “fixed” with a simple shift to a cheerier attitude. The use of physical text in external environments within the work serves to highlight the potential other people's words have to affect our own thoughts about ourselves.
