Where comfort and fear of change coexist, encapsulated by the likeness of a duvet, inherent in the dichotomy of depression. Under the Covers. documents my experience navigating recovery from depression into early adulthood. The series intertwines imagery within the family home, self-portraiture, and landscapes of Beachy Head symbolising the nonlinear path of recovery.

Drawn to Beachy Head by its reputation as a place on the precipice of life and death; noticing details that unveiled the anguish and trauma absorbed by the landscape over years, even centuries. Challenging my relationship to home upon return to Hertfordshire, I began to perceive domestic details cast in shadow but beacons of continuity maintaining their presence through even the most difficult times. And reflecting on the impact this trauma had to the family’s dynamic.

The intention of this work is to find echoes and parallels in the imagery and atmospheres of the two places and to represent something of the experience of depression and recovery in a way that neither glorifies nor catastrophises but increases understanding and allows those who have been through, or are going through something similar, fostering a communal sense of belonging.