Linxin Li
Twisted (I'm) 2
Winner
“I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind.” – Edgar Allen Poe. As a dancer who suffers from depression and anxiety, I am deeply curious about the how to express the inner pain through the physical. My work explores how movement can be used to portray mental disorders. The twisted rope from the image represents my relationship with depression. It chained me down, but it also made me stronger. Part of my inspiration comes from Edgar Allen Poe’s writing. This collection of photos is to echo the way he expressed the darkness and pain he experienced through words, using another kind of language: dance photography. The portrayal of mental disorders through the visual art form can be a method to call attention to those who experience mental disorders. There is no doubt that these portrayals shape societal attitudes and perceptions of people with mental illnesses. Sometimes, inaccurate representation of people with mental illnesses leads to discrimination and social isolation. My work aims to reflect the feelings and humanistic qualities and struggles through physicality.
Linxin “Kisa” Li is an MFA student at the FSU school of Dance. She is from Guiyang, China and began her professional dance training with the Sichuan Province Dance Academy since 2006. Linxin is also a choreographer, photographer and a model. Linxin is passion about various forms of art, such as dance film, dance photography, as well as making music. The desire to learn fuels my passion to grow. I want to use this experience to fully explore every possibility with my various interests, such as dance film, producing music, and combining psychology and dance together. The degree of dance and psychology from my previous University gave me a clear version of the future path that I want to pursue; by using camera as a visual language tool, to delivers my inner world, through body movements and subject matters. Dance photography is the medium I am focusing on to pass my message; the manner in which mental illnesses are portrayed through visual arts can significantly impact public perceptions, influencing reactions and attitudes toward people experiencing these illnesses and related issues. Presently media reinforces the discrimination, marginalization, stigma, and stereotyping that patients of mental disorders often undergo. Therefore, my research asks: how camera can be used to portray the mental disorders? My research details various aspects of a dance photography project intended to deliver a choreographic portrayal of depression and anxiety, most common psychological disorders today.