Sarah Thien, Watts Artist in Residence between April - May 2022, explains the process behind her residency project: Portrait of a Young Person.

During Sarah’s residency, she responded to the Treasures from the Ashmolean exhibition. It was a pleasure to be surrounded by so many beautiful drawings and works of art. The portraits were a special favourite subject. However, she found herself drawn to the work Two Acolytes Censing, Pentecost, 1863 by Simeon Solomon (1840-1905). She especially liked the expressions on the faces of the altar boys and the closeness and intimacy of the sitters. Almost as if they were complicit to a secret as well as a lovely innocence in the expression of the subjects.

Through her research into the piece and the artist. Sarah discovered that the artist had to hide his homosexuality. He led a secret life but was eventually exposed for his homosexuality and incarcerated. Sadly, after his incarceration, his career never recovered, and he ended up destitute and in a workhouse.

The duality of his life reminded Sarah how despite the time, this duality still continues and relates present time and social pressure, in particular with social media. She drew a parallel between Solomon and the struggle of young adults with social media. Today young people feel the need to project a perfect life, a facade. Pressure from viewers to keep up with unrealistic expectations. This creates a toxic loop in which the viewer feels the need to match the appearance of the portrayed posts by generating even more disingenuous material.

Portrait of a young person - features a girl talking to an audience online, looking confident and wearing a chic embroidered blouse. Behind her is a bright wall with plants. However, unbeknown to the viewer, she is sat in a dingy dark room, in shorts and slippers and is surrounded by garbage and rotting food. Behind the fakery is mess and decay. it is a metaphor for unrealistic expectations, and asks the viewer to be aware and not fall for false promises and choose not to be complicit

A 2017 survey conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health asked 14 - 24 year-olds in the UK how social media platforms impacted their health and well-being. The survey results found that Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all led to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, poor body image, and loneliness.

Research suggests that young people who are heavy users of social media - spending more than two hours per day on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram - are more likely to report poor mental health, including psychological distress (symptoms of anxiety and depression). Seeing friends constantly on holiday or enjoying nights out can make young people feel like they are missing out while others enjoy life. These feelings can promote a ‘compare and despair’ attitude in young people. Individuals may view heavily photoshopped, edited, or staged photographs and videos and compare them to their seemingly mundane lives. The findings of a small study, commissioned by Anxiety UK, supported this idea and found evidence of social media feeding anxiety and increasing feelings of inadequacy. The unrealistic expectations set by social media may leave young people with feelings of self-consciousness, low self-esteem, and the pursuit of perfectionism which can manifest as anxiety disorders. Use of social media, particularly operating more than one social media account simultaneously, has also been shown to be linked with symptoms of social anxiety.

According to data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), analysed by Young Minds, suicide rates among young people aged 15 - 19 in England rose by 35% from 2020 to 2021. In 2020, 147 young people aged 15 - 19 in England took their own lives. This rose to 198 in 2021. This is the highest number in over 30 years.

NHS data also predicts that 2022 will see the highest ever number of referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Figures to date show the number of under 18s needing NHS treatment is 23% higher than at the same point last year. A total of 241,791 young people were referred to the NHS in the first three months of this year - already half the total figure referred in the whole of last year. Many of these young people are still waiting for treatment and appointments.

[Reference - Becker, M., Alzahabi, R. & Hopwood, C., Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, February 2013, 16(2): 132-135.]

Find out more about Sarah's residency at Watts here