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Art as a mediator for intimacy: Reflections of an art-based research study
- Source: Journal of Applied Arts & Health, Volume 11, Issue 3, Nov 2020, p. 299 - 313
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- 07 Jun 2020
- 13 Jun 2020
- 01 Nov 2020
Abstract
This article presents an art-based research study that explored whether art and artmaking could be considered mediators for intimacy within personal expression. The primary participant of the study was the artist-researcher-therapist, and the imagery created served as co-participants who played the role of ‘others’ residing in the self. Certain qualities of intimacy were identified within art and artmaking: an urge to move closer, embracing small details, layering, safety, transformation, borders and empty spaces, restrictions by limiting media and tension. Art as a mediator was found to provide an intermediate space and a transcendental realm and to serve as a vehicle of expression that could bridge between the physical and the imagined, integrate inner qualities, support differentiation, encourage witnessing and reconcile ambiguity and conflict.