Carys Barclay Young – Sculpture & Environmental Art – School of Fine Art

Carys Barclay Young is a contemporary visual artist from Scotland. Her practice is dedicated to the interconnectivity between all things; studying both ancient and modern spiritual beliefs and investigating how they interact under new contexts. Although she continuously experiments with new materials and techniques, Carys takes pride in her moving imagery.

There is an uncanny familiarity within her work. This is partnered with surrealist narratives to create an eccentric environment which compliments her curious concepts. Through use of performance and digital collage, she hybridises her own physical body with archival materials to create anthropomorphic depictions of religious myths.

Within a gallery setting, she creates immersive experiences by showcasing sculptural works alongside her films. This allows her recorded performances to act as living creatures. Prior to exhibiting, Carys will promote her work with convincing advertisements matching the theme she is presenting to enhance believability surrounding the context of the work, and allow the experience to begin as soon as you have learned of it.

Carys developed a curious relationship with butterflies throughout this past year at a time where she felt doubt and confusion around her practice. She believed that these fleeting visits were signs sent from her angels to help guide her down a path of spiritual awakening.

To honour this connection to the divine realm, ‘All Eyes On Me’ was created. This immersive experience is an exploration into the theatrical nature of religious worship. It analyses the relationship between the digital dimension and spiritual world to explore whether their combined potential could convey an ethereal experience. Focusing on the misrepresentation of Seraphim and Ophanim angels mentioned throughout the Bibles’ Old Testament, Carys decided to shift the narrative on these all-powerful entities, aiming to convey an otherworldly beauty by giving these grotesquely described and rarely mentioned beings their moment under the spotlight.

By amalgamating contrasting narratives, Carys creates her angel by combining masses of taxidermy butterfly wings with her own physical features. This entity undergoes its own metamorphosis to symbolise its rebirth into a beautiful living creature. Each transformation represents a different stage of the spiritual journey the artist experienced while developing this project; awakening, purification, and embodiment.

The materials used in this installation all have a spiritual purpose; the butterflies stand for beauty and transformation, while the eyes act as a gateway to the soul and the bridge between the physical and spirit realm. The theatre is similar to religious buildings due to its Gothic architecture, but also because it is a sacred space for collective transformation and a sense of ritual. Curtains have a similar motion to wings flapping and eyes blinking, however it also translates as the separation between humanity and the divine, and by pulling back these curtains with rope, there is a connection between the two realms. The single chair in the centre of the room invites an individual to undergo an intimate experience in the installation, while also exposing a readiness to receive divine wisdom. Even the sound, which is made using the artists humming is edited to play exact angel number frequencies; which is believed to relax the mind, open mental clarity and allow spiritual connection.

The audience is encouraged to receive a metamorphic experience, in which while they are observing the angels in their performative state, so too are the angels watching the audience.