Tess Bible

When you become a photocopy of yourself, have you lost all substance?

The concept of entropy is the idea of the universe’s state of inert uniformity, disorder and destruction. Entropy also relates to the degree of chaos or uncertainty within a system, much like the artist’s experience with anxiety.

In Entropy (2023), Tess has explored her own encounters with anxious thought through materiality, expressing these experiences through photocopying, painting and distressing her work. Images of familiar objects from her childhood, like bed sheets and floorboards, have been used in combination with images of spaces to retreat to when overwhelmed - each distorted and recoloured through photocopying.

Anxiety tends to distort perspective. Even the most comforting memories can be corrupted with irrational and disruptive thoughts, and this experience has been expressed across 60 different panels, all warped at varying degrees ranging from static images to being distressed beyond the point of recognition. Each mark mimics repetitive, anxious body language - shaking, scratching and picking.

The panels are installed across wall, floor and corner spaces, using the sculptural potential of the work to form chaotic and overwhelming compositions. Each panel within Entropy is installed at random, and a different composition is viewed each time the work is installed.

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Tess is a third year art student who largely works within the painting discipline, but expands her practice by creating mixed media artworks. She investigates more personal themes within her painting, with anxiety serving as a foundational theme across many pieces. Often working in series, Tess explores varying textural, collage, landscape and abstract avenues to express personal struggles with anxious thought.