Katie Holden
Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Katie attended the Alberta College of Art + Design. With a semester abroad in Sydney, Australia. She has achieved a Bachelor of Visual Arts with a specialisation in Ceramics and Printmaking.
Through installation work, she creates ceramic objects that reiterate the need for empathy for individuals who experience any level of mental illness. She explores the notion of generic, well-known objects to empathise the generic qualities of apathetic responses, creating a discourse that calls attention to the stigma surrounded by mental health.
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Katie is one of the artists selected for the 2017 Love Letter exhibition that happens annually in Sydney, Australia. Her work Misericordia from Be With You was selected to be place on consignment at our gallery.
Misericordia
2016
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Misericorida is a series of porcelain casted cups, each with various phrases and words hand stamped onto the surface of the form. Each cup is created in a similar fashion to ensure that the generic qualities are reiterated through the generic qualities of the phrases.
The generic qualities of the cups reiterate the tendency for one’s need to respond to an individual’s issues in a broader sense, emphasizing the fact that not every individual possesses the same innate qualities. In addition, the original cup that was casted is a well-known, disposable material. This aspect speaks to the culture of disposability that is overwhelming to our lives, it is stressed further through the use of a permanent material like ceramics. Through this, and the generic qualities the cup references, it articulates the need for empathetic and well thought out responses towards individual’s dealing with mental illness. It is apparent through simple research that individuals who have not experienced anxiety or depression tend to respond with a lack of empathy and understanding. Through this notion, I am creating a conversation concerning the commentary individual’s receive as a result of their mental illness.
