Sophie Osborn: Anger relief

Artist statement

My body of work is greatly influenced by the concept of a “rage room.” A rage room is essentially a place where people go to smash items for fun. I integrated it into a form of art therapy, and by doing this I have allowed it to be a creative outlet which I can use to find my way through difficult situations. I have chosen to focus mainly on anger because I have not seen a solid outlet for it, I have mainly seen ways to manage it but not really a good way for people (myself included) to actually feel their anger and to be able to process it instead of delaying it and bottling it up.

The pieces of work I have created are not to show off the skills I have as an artist, they are about using these canvases as an outlet for anger and other destructive emotions that people may not be able to express outright. While I know that these just look like a mess that anyone can do there is a meaning behind them, there are the stressors of school, family and friends, and overall life. I feel as though this idea can help lead me into discovering more anger relief methods instead of just having anger management techniques.

I want to draw attention to the fact that there is a gap in therapy when it comes to anger and it needs to be explored more. Anger needs to be normalized to an extent where people can learn to understand and diffuse instead of just pushing it off until they explode from unresolved anger. I sought out anger relief methods I could use because I used to struggle with anger, so when I came onto the rage room idea and started exercising the concept it helped me feel so much better because I targeted my emotions into something constructive and destructive at the same time.