My final piece, titled ‘Hurt So Good’, comprises two elements, a publication and a film, designed to be experienced in combination – the film projected onto the pages from above. The publication is hard-back, unbound and contains four chapters: womb, skin, clothes, space. The text is all original, unedited quotes from the responses I gathered in my primary research: interviews, surveys and questionnaires. The film is a series of photographs I took that visualise the publication’s text.
In my project proposal, I stated that I intend to ‘produce an investigation into human comfort zones’, asking, ‘what are the emotional and physical boundaries we set ourselves and why?’.
I have achieved this through the conversational, observational tone of voice of my final outcome. In addition to the unbound form of the publication, the text layouts are open and unjudgemental, encouraging the viewer to interpret the intimate, sometimes ‘taboo’ topics discussed from a neutral and curious perspective, while also honouring each quote as individual – not bound into one unanimous statement. The footage plays on a loop, randomly landing on a different page by chance, producing a uniquel experience for each viewer, reflecting the subjective nature of the comfort/discomfort spectrum.
Through this, I aim to deconstruct the common assumption that comfort and discomfort are binary oppositions. Instead, I suggest these notions should be perceived as a ‘spectrum’ or ‘zones’ with different lengths, shapes, and sizes depending on the individual. Comfort is not always pleasurable, and discomfort is not always unpleasant.
My final piece celebrates the uncertainty that arises when comfort and discomfort overlap. Rather than shy away from the uncomfortable truth, let’s embrace the reality that discomfort can be pleasurable; without this, growth is impossible.