Yael Pesso Markus

Artist Statement

I am an interdisciplinary artist from a multicultural background. My conceptual art practice springs from my passion for mental health awareness, which functions as a catalyst for introspection and understanding of my own human experience. I intend for this work to provide a springboard for others to do the same.

Anxiety constricts how my brain and body perceive and react to the unpredictable. Perceiving my own reality as ungraspable and beyond my control causes the anxiety to fester and leads me to overthink and overanalyze everything. Like the story of a centipede who forgets how to walk the moment they try to explain how, the mental gridlock is obstructive at best and paralyzing at worst. 

In my experience structure brings tranquility, allowing for deep and clear thought. I attempt to focus on what I can control by creating and adhering to self-imposed limitations, learning to let go and not worry about what is outside of my control.

To get through daily tasks and interactions during isolation in the 2020 lockdown, my self-imposed limitations evolved into a conceptual art practice where I established a set of working prompts for myself. These guidelines encouraged introspection, documentation, self-monitoring, and analysis through the creation of physical artworks or performative acts. For my thesis, I present some of these prompts and the work I created in response.

The interpretation and execution of these guidelines acts as a therapeutic practice to help me gain a deeper understanding of myself and my relationship with my environment. I hope to aid and inspire others to do the same. 
 

Website: yaelpesso.com