One Month: Self Portrait

2025

Table & Stands: Poplar

Bowls: Maple, Elm, Aspen, Ash, Oak, Apple, Pine, Lacewood, Lime, Walnut, Beech, Sycamore

164" L x 7.75" W x 50.5" H

This piece offers a visual depiction of one month living with bipolar depression. 

Every day for one month, I turned a bowl and tracked my depression utilizing a modified version of the PHQ-9, a scored questionnaire used to measure the severity of depression. The bowls are displayed in the order of their creation, resting on stands that correlate with the PHQ-9 score for that day.

The height of the table itself represents a score of 11, indicating moderate depression and noticeable symptoms that may interfere with daily functioning. Each additional 1/2" of height represents the equivalent of 1 point on the PHQ-9: the higher the stand, the greater my depression was for that day. 

Stands without bowls represent the PHQ-9 scores for the days when I did not feel safe or stable enough to be in the workshop.

From the series "Polarity"