BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
Philippine Vidart 

This installation piece was made in the context of my month long residency at the CopperLeg artist residency in Vaskjala, Estonia from November to December 2021. It illustrates the conundrums of today’s working system through visual metaphors and symbolism. By questioning the comfort of a stable work life, it shows that a price is payed, often with our own mental health as seen with the alarming numbers of burnout cases of the recent years.

I’ve decided to approach the subject of burnout through storytelling as I like to believe that narrative helps convey messages that our subconscious is more likely to store away without prejudice and, ultimately, to use it for personal development. We all associate certain elements to a feeling, even if subjective and based on personal experience, some things are universal - a house is safety, fire is destructive - and some just follow the rules of science - you cannot contain water in a colander (trust me). By bringing them together in a somewhat aesthetic mix match, I hope to convey my vision. The path taken to decipher it matters less, as it will be interpreted differently by each pair of eyes. When you think about it, that’s a new story for every interpretation.