Art education student displays their past traumas and memories in a form of multimedia works.
Many artists incorporate soft sculptures, performances, and videos in their practice. For multidisciplinary Concordian artist and art education student Kelly Day, their personal history and experience are expressed through these mediums to create regenerative works that seek to materialize nostalgic sentiments. Day encourages viewers to reflect on their past while engaging with the work.
In their recent piece, How to Read a Room, Day narrated a personal story touching upon their experience with a late diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPSTD). This work was on view at Concordia’s VAV Gallery as part of the Vestiges of Belonging exhibition showcasing the works of the VAV’s summer residency program.
The installation includes a vintage bed frame, a quilted bed sheet, a canape, and a rug. There’s also a video playing on a loop in which Day reads aloud the first chapter of How to Read a Book.
The story of this piece goes back to a party in 2006. Day was having a conversation with the host about their struggle to finish a book, and the host then gave them a copy of How to Read a Book, which inspired this project. When Day was finally diagnosed with CPTSD, they realized that educational roadblocks like this were the result of their condition.
“This work is a continuation of the piece I had done in 2019 called How to Read a Rug,” explained Day. “I would like to continue this project by making How to Read a Curtain and other different textile items that would be in a traditional bedroom to collectively be How to Read a Room.”
Day faced a familial identity crisis in their teenage years when they realized that their father used a false last name, Ryan, which shook the core Day’s identity. After the death of their father, they were able to speak freely about the situation, producing artworks that demonstrated the ties between trauma and nostalgia.
“After my dad’s death last year, all the creativity that I was holding back is coming forward,” said Day.
Day’s installation focused on the rituals of objects and materials, and what the modern world overlooks. They believe that particular objects carry a lot of meaning and are intertwined with nostalgia.
Day’s work often involves spatial installations and repetition of materials to convey certain feelings and emotions. They examine the meaning of these objects beyond themselves, such as in their previous piece Tools of Abuse, a process which allows Day to explore these objects’ impact on individuals.
“The nylons [in Tools of Abuse] symbolize abandonment by my mother,” said Day. “She shopped for nylons to wear out dancing to a singles’ country bar regularly to someday meet her dream cowboy.”
The artist said that all these life experiences led them to studying and teaching art education. They teach through a trauma-informed lens based on CPTSD and subtle complexities in children’s behaviour that might go unnoticed. Art education and the inspirational interactions they foster with their students sustain Day’s creative process.
“I resonate with them because I went through CPSTD myself,” said Day. “That is why I try to connect with the students on a more personal level and give them freedom in their creative projects.”
Day is currently working on a project focusing on their family lineage from Baie-du-Febvre, where their ancestors were initially from, to California, where they were born, and their current life in Montreal. This regenerative work encompasses the importance of specific places and their relation to generational presence and familial identity.
“I’m interested in exploring how the body holds memory, and trying to incorporate some distant memories and merge them to current events,” explained Day.
