MOTHERS, MIRRORS AND EXISTENTIAL METHODS
(2020)

Mothers, Mirrors and Existential Methods is the result of a one-year research under the supervision of Paula Albuquerque, aimed to create an insightful read on instances where the Mirror Stage of a child’s life as Jacques Lacan defines it might have partially or completely failed. Where the mirroring might not have matched D.W. Winnicott’s description of “good enough”, as the Mirror was broken or non-existent and access to transitional objects was unstable. The research reflects on the lives and works of artists who expressed feelings or produced works related to this dynamic. Combined, the results provide further understanding of the formation of the self in relation to the artist and their work; through the intricate workings of how it has been, how it is, and how it could have been with the Mother, the Mirror and the (Self)Object. Present throughout the text is an inquiry of the Mirror and the reflection in the imagery of literature and cinema, in mythology, symbolism and in the collective unconscious.