Pseudonym

Pseudonym is an exhibition that deals with the trials and tribulations of the pandemic, reflecting on how to respond to the pressures on one’s sense of self brought about by social distancing and Covid-19.

Curator & Artist

As a writer and mixed media artist, Carrie Neilson has produced two published volumes of poetry, Backbone (2020) and An Ode To. (2020). Backbone is a collection of 74 poems divided into two sections; the fi rst, entitled ‘shape’, focusing on Neilson’s mixed-race background and her relationship to her mother, while the second, entitled ‘build’, is dedicated to one of her closest friends. An Ode To. explores the sensual and erotic aspects of self-discovery. Whilst studying for her Curation MA, over the course of the pandemic, Neilson has also developed her artistic practice, working in photography, fi lmmaking, painting and sculpture.

The work displayed for Neilson’s exhibition, Pseudonym, is a projection of her own internalised feelings of anxiety and evolving self-confi dence, incorporating self-portraits, poetry and body castings, that reclaim images of self, in conscious acts of self-discovery and intimacy. As well as focusing on her own mental health challenges during the pandemic, as an international student, Neilson wanted to curate a space for freedom of expression, contrary to the claustrophobia she felt as a child growing up in Hong Kong.