School of Creative
Industries
Carolyn Lee
Carolyn Lee is a brand marketing communications professional with over 16 years of experience in luxury lifestyle sectors ranging from hospitality, real estate, media and banking. Pottery and oil painting offered her some respite from the exacting demands of her corporate roles, and it was during those times that she personally experienced how art-making can be a soothing balm for the soul. In 2019, she finally mustered the courage to pursue a Masters in Art Therapy, hoping to bring therapeutic experiences to children and young persons. In her art-making, Carolyn is drawn to symmetry and linear aesthetics, a reflection of her disposition for order. Clean lines and defined forms help to allay much of her internal anxieties. Through her postgraduate training in art therapy, she is learning to embrace deviations from her comfort zone to facilitate playful expressions and redefine self-imposed expectations.
Work
TECHTILE
Plastic mesh, yarn
65 x 80 cm
2021
TECHTILE is a QR code created using soft yarn. It seeks to preserve the sensorial experience of the human touch in our increasingly digital world, especially with the onset of social distancing guidelines brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an expression of a personal curiosity about how art therapy, a high-touch profession, may be impacted by the pervasive use of virtual communication and digital interactions. For the artist, a QR code also symbolises a window to meaningful content beyond the visuals that you first see. This parallels the psychodynamic practice of art therapy which enables deeper exploration and understanding of ourselves, especially that which are not easily apparent.
Thesis abstract
Efficacy of playing with art materials as a therapeutic intervention for residents in a children and young persons home in Singapore
In Singapore’s fast-paced culture of precision and productivity, embracing the spontaneous process of playing with art materials without expectations for final artworks to effect therapeutic outcomes may seem out of step. The aim of this paper seeks to validate the therapeutic effects of emotional regulation, secure attachment patterns and therapeutic alliance when residents living in a children and young persons home in Singapore engage in playing with art materials. The findings of this qualitative practitioner-based study highlights how positive affect is observed and therapeutic alliance is forged using a multiple case vignette methodology. Three case vignettes are presented to enliven the theoretical art therapy principles through a psychodynamic lens of the practitioner-researcher. This study hopes to serve as a contribution to the body of literature on the efficacy of playing with art materials in art therapy, affirming it as a therapeutic end in itself. It also recommends playing with art materials as an effective therapeutic intervention for vulnerable populations who have experienced early attachment trauma, including children in foster care and adults living with early attachment trauma.