Paper Stack
Due to entering a systematic environment in relation to the loss of my family, difficulties in identity, and progression from childhood into adulthood from age 15, the Care System features heavily within my work. I have a keen interest in the on-going changes of policy and bureaucracy in relation to Social Services in Wales. Through-out my own experience of this system, and involvement within charity work, I have gained knowledge upon the practices and issues facing current Looked after Children. I aim to communicate these issues and ideas about this system to a wider audience.
My current practice features a stacked collective of A4 sized, office-style documents directly relating to Looked after Children. These documents, often stored away in bulk files within a room only a professional could access, offer the audience insight into the sheer volume of physical paperwork relating to one entrant upon the system, as well as the methodical approach used by professionals in forming a relationship with a ‘Service User’. By creating this stack of paper, I aim to explore how a young person’s life is transformed into a large collection of documents which are then archived upon leaving this system, often never looked at again.
