Elizabeth Doyle

BFA in Art & Design

Body Memories

My project is about anxiety and its relationship with the human body. My goal was to create an installation that combines writing and figure paintings to explore this idea. I focused on how the body can evoke anxiety and how anxiety can deteriorate a person's health. With my paintings, I depicted different parts of the human body that are heavily affected by anxiety. With this piece, I wanted to create and present an overwhelming feeling to simulate anxiety and build a space that feels immersive.

Oil on Canvas 36×48”
A torso to represent the ways anxiety effects the center of the body, focusing on the stomach and digestive issues. The face and hand in the corner represent dermatillomania, or any form of anxiety- induced skin picking

Oil on Canvas 24×36”
A woman’s lower abdomen to represent the way anxiety effects the bladder

Oil on Canvas 24×36”
A woman’s chest represents shortness of breath, chest pain, and anxiety induced asthma

Photo emulsion prints on a sheet of white muslin. For this, I took photos of the writing I did on the other walls of the installation, inverted them, and then created photo emulsion prints of the images on the sheet. Back wall of the installation.

India ink on a white sheet of muslin written with a bamboo pen. The words are compiled from my journals over the past three years.

Close up of writing on the wall and a digital representation of how the full installation would have looked

Collaged photo emulsion prints. These pieces are what I would have used to cover the floor of the installation.

Iterative paintings exploring different types of mark making

Woodblock prints on top of digital prints that were iterations for the collaged piece on the floor