‘In Potentia‘ is a photographic, still life series, exploring psychiatrist Carl Jung’s theory on The Collective Unconscious & Archetypal Images.
“They contain a revealed knowledge that was originally hidden, and they set forth the secrets of the soul in glorious images”. (Carl Jung, 1940)
According to Jung, the collective unconscious is a pocket of genetic memories, hidden deep within the unconscious mind. These memories contain knowledge and images experienced and passed on by our ancestors.
As the collective unconscious is deeply hidden, we are unable to actively access it. Instead, the concepts held within bubble to the surface as symbols and metaphors. These metaphors commonly take shape as myths and fairy-tales, known as “Archetypal Images”. Jung condensed the archetypal images into four main Archetypes: The Shadow, The Persona, The Anima & Animus, and The Self.
Being fascinated with folklore, spirituality, and psychology, Jung’s theory was an irresistible subject for me to portray in my artwork. In response to the symbolic nature of the theory, I decided to represent the collective unconscious and archetypes using conceptual still life. The dark tone and lighting in the images leans into the idea of the archetypal images rising from the hidden depths of the collective unconscious.
Further inspired by still life paintings from history, I aimed to give my artwork an ‘old world’ feel by refraining from obviously modern objects. Finally, I have printed onto watercolour fine-art paper to blur the lines between painting and photography., is a photographic, still life series, exploring psychiatrist Carl Jung’s theory on The Collective Unconscious & Archetypal Images.