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Nothing Personal


I think everyone should be a little less ashamed of their feelings.
In this body of work, I explore the ways we write our personal history and how outside perspectives—including digital traces of data and messages—bring witness to our most intimate interactions. 

Hey, I'm not Ignoring You. Bikini covered in text conversations between myself and my ex, my dad, and my late best friend.

Do It Anyway. A diamond-encrusted gold shirt button made from my mother's wedding ring as a tribute to the quandary of emotional recklessness.


Google Search History of queries before, during, and after a breakup.


Photograph-quality scans of minerals collected with an ex-boyfriend. 


Stills from a performance piece where I smashed my rock collection in front of a uranium mine in Green River, UT. Assisted by Alison Jean Cole and David Worthington.

Coping Mechanisms used to diagram and comprehend confusing moments in my emotional history. These diagrams represents changing relationship dynamics over the course of two years, reflections on my interactions with men at different points in my life, and a timeline that validates the depth of my friendship with my best friend, Nora, who passed away when I was 22.


Emotional Exercises for the Trumpet is a music book filled with interpersonal exercises and mantras.


Idle Hands is a quilt I designed to be time consuming so that I could use the process of making it to make some timely life decisions. It explores the idea of making as a form of devotional art.




© Kirsten Southwell 2020







Mark