Josephine Truscott
Artist Catalogue
Virtual Exhibition
[Un]Divided
My work is about the mind. Shifting thoughts, distractions, chaotic feelings. This body of work explores what drives creative intuition. What makes us make? [Un]Divided encapsulates a year of work created by neurodivergent intuition, and the struggle for and against control.
I work with sheets of stained glass and copper-coated wire. My interest in glass work began in 2022 when I created organic shapes out of recycled glass bottles. Through a process of cutting, drilling, and melting glass, I have created fragile wiry sculptures reminiscent of neurons. Using wire, I create cell-like structures for the glass to melt over, through, and around. In this meditative and time-consuming process of bending wire, I gain control over the form. After the wire has been bent, I wrap them around steel cages, gently place glass on them, and turn on the kiln.
In the act of placing the glass structures in the kiln, I relinquish control over the form.
The unpredictable process of the firing glass - where things may warp, drip, melt and dissolve - requires an act of letting go of control. This experience of gaining and losing control forms a parallel to my experience of having ADHD. Having been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at a young age, I have struggled with the need to let go and surrender. The feeling is exacerbated by being neurodivergent in a neurotypical society. Because of this, I feel a need to have tight control over my life, for fear that if I let go, I will fall apart.
[Un]Divided recounts an experience of gaining control and then letting go. This process-driven work reveals the unexpected encounters of chance and unpredictability, delving into a personal experience of neurodivergency.