Catching Feelings
2024, produced as part of the ‘It’s my life, don’t you forget’ project at Open School East with ‘the vacuum cleaner’
Wooden display cases, glass jars, paper labels, acrylic paint, permanent marker, paper, found objects.
Created with participants from workshops at The Beacon Community Mental Health Centre and Arts in Ramsgate, Catching Feelings draws inspiration from the ancient practice of food preservation—jarring items when they are abundant in nature so they can be enjoyed in later seasons.
Participants from the workshops were asked to recall a memory or imagine a future moment that brings them joy. These positive emotions could include excitement, contentment, peace, joy, happiness, pleasure, warmth, or awe—feelings they wish to experience more often, especially during challenging times. They were then invited to take their jars and labels home to spend more time developing their ideas and to collect meaningful objects from their lives. The wooden display is arranged to resemble a shrine, highlighting the preciousness of our feelings and memories.
Visitors were encouraged to pick up the jars, take a closer look, and reflect on the memories they would like to preserve for themselves.
Full details of the overall project can be found here.
