Stained glass applique sculpture with fused glass elements
2020
In ‘Plutchik’s Dice’ I have explored emotional states. Psychologist Robert Plutchik’s Theory of Emotions classified emotions into eight primary states – anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust and joy. I have transposed these onto an eight-sided dice where each face represents an emotion. One face is always hidden, though you are able to see through to other sides or emotions. A reflection that life is not that simple and emotions are hard to define and often confused.
The octahedron shape makes it impossible to gain an understanding of all sides at once – just as it is impossible to categorise a person or their emotional state fully. Sometimes other emotions are glimpsed but societal constraints mean that often, emotions are controlled and displayed only as deemed appropriate by others.
I have further explored Plutchik’s theory with my sculptures Joy + Trust = Love and Sadness + Surprise = Disappointment.
