Breathe
Freud Museum, London 16May-18 July 2018
Curated by Caroline Garland, psychoanalyst
Curated by Caroline Garland, psychoanalyst, Breathe presents two thought-provoking contemporary artists, Fay Ballard and Judy Goldhill, who both explore the central theme of parental loss throughout their practice. Breath, and the act of breathing, permeate the work of both artists, consciously and unconsciously, referencing not only personal loss, but also life as a creative force - Fay through drawing; Judy through photography, film and artist’s books.
Installation shot
Further Information
Through photography, film, and books there are several strands to the work.
In Freud's study, there is a reexamination of her work, Neshamah, Hebrew for the soul, installed to chime with the atmosphere of his consulting rooms.
The dining room shows several images of an iron lung, the equipment in which her father, aged 34, spent his last few months.
A glass vitrine shows early poems, written in German from her schoolboy father, aged 8, plus his registration card found in the National Archive in Kew.
The machines for looking, observatories, are exhibited up the staircase, At the top of the stairs is an image of a stack of letters, given recently to Goldhill, written by her father Harold to his father, whilst serving in the British Army.