VIRTUAL SENIOR SHOW: Racha Elsbach
This collection of digital photographs was created around an exploration of confrontation of many mental health issues. I have struggled with my own mental health since the age of 13, being 21 now I couldn’t keep repeating the same habits. Confrontation is not something that I am used to. Confronting myself has been an on-going process that has drastically changed my life in a short amount of time. The majority of these images were taken in New York City, either in or around the apartment building that my father grew up in. Being in that place I felt the history of the space and the traits of my family that have been passed down to me. These works were also heavily influenced by the concept of the “liminal space”. The term liminal comes from a Latin root for threshold. Liminal spaces are characterized by a feeling more than anything else. The feeling of loneliness and anxiety created by these images felt like a good representation of my own mental space. A common theme in a few images in this work is a void or a hole, as well as objects standing in their way. This was an expression of myself moving past these obstacles to see what was in those holes that I stared at for so long.
Title: Debating Confrontation
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image represents the paralyzing anxiety one feels before confronting something that has been repressed.
Title: At the intersection of consciousness
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image represents the opaque boundary that separates the conscious from the subconscious.
Title: Swimming through Mercury
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image represents the feeling of trying to run during a nightmare.
Title: Opening a can of worms
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This is another representation of confronting oneself. The dark cavern represents the place where suppressed feelings go.
Title: Being present in memory
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image represents the vivid memories that come from nostalgia.
Title: Finding the void
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image represents the small window of opportunity you have to work on yourself before something gets in the way.
Title: Looking for Mom
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image is inspired by the feeling of panic that I had as a kid when I realized I had wandered away from my parents in an unknown place.
Title: Frozen
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image represents the paralyzing quality that anxiety has on me.
Title: Do I dare?
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image is inspired by the moment before you commit to a decision.
Title: Momentary Relief
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image represents the calm that comes after or in between panic attacks.
Title: Undercover
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image is inspired by hiding under a blanket while the sun is out.
Title: Trapped in my mind
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image represents how I spend days in my head and being unable to be present for reality.
Title: Dipping a toe
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This is another image about confrontation. An experience I have avoided for most of my life and that I have just begun to practice.
Title: Denial Unraveling
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image is inspired by qualities or events that you have been avoiding but their presence is becoming too obvious.
Title: Finding the light
Medium: Digital Photography
Year: 2020
Description: This image represents the relief and rest you experience after hard work.