The Blue Room

This installation work was created in 2019. The idea originated from imagining the sky as the sum of all possibilities, an airy space of infinite potential. Examining how anxiety transforms this sky into a sticky liquid which curbs movements and action, I decided to buy a pot of blue paint, not arbitrarily chosen for the name of its shade, Resene’s “Comfort Zone” blue, and paint a whole room with it.

The ambiguity of the space was somehow felt in the making. I set out to make a fake sky, and to allude to a confort zone’s limited attempt to actually make us realise our potential. During the painting of the room, I managed to convince myself I was going to birth this beautiful sky, a space to float in and rest, peacefully. I also made cushions for the room out of memory fabric, which were meant to feel nice.

Even though now entirely covered in a dreamy blue, the small basement room became even worse than what it originally was. Just as oppressive and claustrophobic as it had always been, it was now a liar too; Under false pretenses of comfort and infinite skies of blue, it still managed to slowly crush your soul with its low ceiling, flickering neon lights and heavy machinery noises emanating from the walls.

It became a true comfort zone.