My latest Netflix obsession has been "Making a Murderer." It's an incredible story, very well told. This evening (while procrastinating on facing the blank art journal page) I was watching and shaking my head, feeling quite emotional. Imagine being falsely accused of rape and murder!
I recognize those emotions. I was falsely accused of a crime once, albeit a minor one. Happily, the sheriff believed my version of events, and that was the end of it. But I was extremely shaken up by the experience. It makes you feel helpless, angry, desperate, scared, deeply frustrated...
So, I decided to try to express these feelings, aroused by this show tonight. I followed my impulses: Tear something up (an old copy of National Geographic, first one I grabbed). Choose images or colours that resonate with the emotion. Try not to overthink it.
The technical aspects of the exercise got in the way a bit. (How best to stick the paper to the page? Is the composition working?) When I was done collaging, it didn't feel right; it wasn't disturbing enough. So I followed one more impulse: take it to the basement and throw something at it.
"False accusation" Art journal, mixed media, 9 x 12"