Kathryn Blommel
Saint Cloud , Minnesota
The Head and The Heart
2021
charcoal and acrylic paint
8.5 x 0.5 x 14
Artist Statement
The Head and The Heart investigates the effects of mental illness on the victim as well the people around us. The book is concealed with ties that bind its stories together, almost like a diary that you want no one to read. Untying the book makes the reader hesitant and prone to feeling invasive on someone else’s story and trauma. Almost like they are reading something they shouldn’t be. The book explores the invisible side effects of mental illness that our society seems to leave unexpressed all too well. The book takes us on two different journeys. First, we see images that reference restaine and confinement joined with words and phrases of expression and admirable vulnerability. Throughout the reader’s journey they are interrupted with sections of the phrase “I wish you could see the world through my lens. For then you might come to understand.” This phrase enforces the reader to understand the intention of the writer and understand their pain and suffering further than before. When finished with the book the reader will wrap the ties around the pages concealing it once again, slightly different from when they found it. However, they will walk away with the intention of understanding what they will not come to know