I need to say that the "art project" on the outside of this institution is very disturbing to me. All I can see is a sick joke about suicide. "Flirting with Suicide" would be the title I'd give it!
To me this feels like the kind of flaunting of an "acceptable" form of violence. The kind of thing abusers love to do.
hello Tony, and thank you for sharing your thoughts. Indeed, that is a salient point and one I haven't addressed, and you're very right to point out that aspect of the piece. I don't have the same reaction to it, and I'm wondering why. When I was in Amsterdam I did indeed come close to suicide. I sat on the edge of a canal and pondered what would happen if I dropped myself in, if I would sink or swim. (Well I don't know how to swim so the chances are that I would have sunk!) That is the point when I was picked up by the authorities and taken to the Mentrum Clinic, so I didn't ever actually jump. Yet I felt safe the entire time, because (and here's where it gets weird) I felt that I was being held by angels. Maybe I really was; after all, I didn't jump. But I have felt a connection to that art piece due to its reference to angels, and I haven't felt threatened by it. But I can see entirely that for many people experiencing despair or crisis, the image could be taunting, and ominous. I will ponder this further, and probably write more in another post, because there is something in it to explore. Thank you again for sharing this perspective. And yes, I will go carefully and gently as I revist the past. xxx
Julia,
I need to say that the "art project" on the outside of this institution is very disturbing to me. All I can see is a sick joke about suicide. "Flirting with Suicide" would be the title I'd give it!
To me this feels like the kind of flaunting of an "acceptable" form of violence. The kind of thing abusers love to do.
Good luck with revisiting. Be careful.
Tony
hello Tony, and thank you for sharing your thoughts. Indeed, that is a salient point and one I haven't addressed, and you're very right to point out that aspect of the piece. I don't have the same reaction to it, and I'm wondering why. When I was in Amsterdam I did indeed come close to suicide. I sat on the edge of a canal and pondered what would happen if I dropped myself in, if I would sink or swim. (Well I don't know how to swim so the chances are that I would have sunk!) That is the point when I was picked up by the authorities and taken to the Mentrum Clinic, so I didn't ever actually jump. Yet I felt safe the entire time, because (and here's where it gets weird) I felt that I was being held by angels. Maybe I really was; after all, I didn't jump. But I have felt a connection to that art piece due to its reference to angels, and I haven't felt threatened by it. But I can see entirely that for many people experiencing despair or crisis, the image could be taunting, and ominous. I will ponder this further, and probably write more in another post, because there is something in it to explore. Thank you again for sharing this perspective. And yes, I will go carefully and gently as I revist the past. xxx