Emotion Over Raisin is a 15 minute video created by artist Ruth Waters in 2019. Through intertwining acted scenes and found footage it recreates a group therapy session that focuses on mindfulness meditation.

Drawing on Ruth’s own experience of a prescribed NHS course to combat depression and anxiety, Emotion Over Raisin reflects on how the pace and pressures of daily life can clash with activities designed to aid recovery. Through a raisin mindfulness session, in which participants are asked to stare at and then eat a raisin, focus is disrupted as the video drifts, sometimes smoothly and sometimes suddenly, to peculiar destinations within each individual’s mind.

This reflects Ruth’s own feelings of disconnection, between the requirement to meditate for 40 minutes each day and the reality of living in London, work, family, and for the majority of participants, living in overcrowded housing.

With daily lives constantly overshadowing attempts at being present; the benefits of these sessions seemed short-lived, as many participants grew increasingly frustrated at not being able to do what was asked of them.

 

Screenshots and Installation Photo (Credit: Rocio Chacon) 

 

Given the fast pace and expectations that come from societal structures and norms, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by our commitments, as we try to mange work, family/social responsibilities and our wellbeing. The normalised pressure of continual production encourages us to constantly set, and strive, to reach goals while the accumulation of unfinished tasks tick away in the background.

Rather than adding yet another task to our list, perhaps addressing the realities that come from living in a society driven by competition and capital would be a more useful? Or perhaps we need a radically different system?

Emotion Over Raisin was the second online exhibition from Beyond Breaking Point. The full video was screened here on the 31 March. You can now watch an excerpt below. Visit Ruth’s website to discover more of her work.

We shared elements from this exhibition, and the rest of our programme across our digital platforms. To get a sense of the live programme check out our highlights on Instagram.

 

 

Ruth Waters (b. Kendal, 1986) uses moving image installation to explore the way capitalist society impacts our levels of anxiety. Residencies include; ARCUS Projects, Japan and Kingsgate Projects, London. Recent exhibitions include; 2020 Taiwan International Video Art Exhibition; 1646, Den Haag; Wumin Art Center, Cheongju and 6th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art, Moscow.