Silently Drown
— Drawing Attention To The Silent Health Crisis Of Caregiver Depression
Depression left me drowning in deep water where calls for help cannot be heard. However, visuals and sounds voiced my desperation.
Photography/Sound Design, August 2021
Photographer: Hui-Chun Yang
Composer: Hui-Chun Yang
Model: Hui-Chun Yang
Personal Experience
Caregiver Depression
In an effort to provide the best care for my boyfriend diagnosed with major depressive disorder, I sacrificed my own physical and emotional needs. The resulting feelings of anxiety, sadness, isolation, exhaustion—and then guilt for having these feelings— exacted a heavy toll.
Social Attitude
SILENT CRISIS
Unfortunately, society's attention to patients and provision of more medical and counseling resources than caregivers has made caregiver depression a silent health crisis that is rarely addressed and has led to several social tragedies.
Expression
BREATHE THROUGH MUSIC
I expressed the isolation and exhaustion of that time through music composition and photography because I think music can convey emotions better than words. It is through this outlet that I can breathe and feel alive again.
Bringing social attention to this issue through artistic expression is what I thought could help someone who also silently suffered from this depression, giving them resonance and comfort.
Photography Exhibition — July 2022. Taipei, Taiwan.
visual . Sound . space
This photographic and musical creation were exhibited at a private art gallery in Taipei. I chose to place my works under the stairs to create a tense atmosphere, and printed the image as a cylinder, allowing it to interact with the space.
Process
the uncertainty
The hardest but most fun part was not knowing if I was hitting the shutter at the right moment as the water rippled. It is the uncertainty of this process that makes me feel more fulfilled when I complete this creation.
