Morrigan Crotty

In the Coils of a Dream is a wire mask based on a creature from one of my unpublished stories which describes struggles differentiating reality and fantasy. It delves into maladaptive daydreaming, which played a part in the process of this work’s creation. I lost sight of reality and as I returned, I found the piece before me. The mask covers the head, representing a loss of conscious function during these episodes and showing how the fantastical form eclipses the wearer’s real form. The piece incorporates a short video that shows a bit of process work and a sudden loss of function once I don the mask.  

Dependence is a pair of wire gauntlets representing emotional dependency. Both gauntlets are for right hands; the smaller one for the dependent and the oversized one for the dependee. The oversized gauntlet is representative of the dependee’s unreasonable expectations and the chain between the two forces both to remain close. When the oversized gauntlet is removed, it hangs off the dependent, reminding them of their insecurities. There’s also a performance element around handshakes. To have any confidence, the dependent needs others’ approval, yet wire jabs the approval giver’s wrist as the hands connect, representing how this individual also suffers on account of the dependent.

Morrigan Crotty is a mixed media artist who majors in Art and Art History, as well as Professional Writing. Her works independently explore and mix studies of the psyche and environmental issues. Inspiration for her work springs from multiple sources. Morrigan spent much of her life wandering through ravines and marshes, studying the ecology, drawing and writing. Her life fluctuated between dream worlds and reality. The more the artist’s mind bends the world around her, the more she seeks to delve into mental processes. Morrigan’s work often incorporates woven wire that provides intangible psychological subjects a physical form.