The Self Help Files of Hanne Ugelstad
Human beings constructs stories to deal with experiences.
I remember very clearly when I was introduced to the term narrative psychology and Jerome Bruner in college around 15 years ago, because this was a perspective and a way of thinking that made so much make sense:
Narrative psychology is a perspective in psychology concerned with the "storied nature of human conduct", that is, how human beings deal with experience by observing stories and listening to the stories of others. Operating under the assumption that human activity and experience are filled with "meaning" and stories, rather than lawful formulations, narrative psychology is the study of how human beings construct stories to deal with experiences.
The word narrative is used as a specific method. It is a method of articulating life experiences in a meaningful way. Narrative psychology is not a single or well-defined theory. It refers to a range of approaches to stories in human life and thought. In narrative psychology, a person's life story becomes a form of identity as how they choose to reflect on, integrate and tell the facts and events of their life not only reflects, but also shapes, who they are. It is a social constructivist approach that studies the implications of these stories for individuals and societies. (…) Narrative psychological approaches have become influential in research into the self and identity, as analysing life stories can explore the "unity and coherence" of the self.
Learning narrative therapy as a method was like a key that meant that everything around me could be questioned, re-imagined, and re-negotiated. And it was at the same time, I suppose, the beginning of an unraveling of my own constructed stories about my self and the world I had gotten to know, i.e. created. Because we do create our own realities, more or less knowingly, with more or less control and ability to realize what we’re up to.
When I was trying to come up with a name for the exhibition I was doodling in my journal as usual, different ideas and names and why’s. And I was going in a very different direction when all of a sudden I just wrote across the whole page: The Self Help Files of Hanne Ugelstad. I didn’t want to use it at all, but I couldn’t escape it. It’s funny isn’t it, how impossible it is to un-idea an idea.
My initial resentment to the title is still very much present. I wish I could have given it another name. But at the same time, it has forced open for me a process of connecting compartmentalized aspects of my self, my experience, knowledge, my biography, meaning the story of who I am and the experiences I’ve had. This exercise of also writing about what I have made, has become deeper work for me than I first imagined.
Making art is a language that I am learning, but I feel like I know a little bit more now how to express what I want to express. I am telling you a story, about me. Everything I make becomes part of an archive, more or less real, that chronicles the event of me, more or less significant in the grander scheme of things. I invite you to have a look at a part of it, if you want, opening Friday January 12th, one week from today. I will show works on canvas, drawings, small sculptures, works on found objects, textile works and photography and the works are available for sale by me. List of works can be found here.
I will make some waffles from 18.00, my friends Mari and Brandon will play some live music for us around 19.30, and I hope to see people I know and meet people I don’t know yet this evening. There’s a link to an event-page on Facebook at the bottom with directions.
See you soon!
THE SELF HELP FILES
vernissage: Friday January 12th 2024
venue: Street Art Oslo, Helgesens gate 46
opening hours: fri jan 12th 18-22, sat 13th 14-18, sun 14th 12-16
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