Francesca Woodmen started photographing at the age of 13 and continued until her suicide at the age of just 22. I have often been very inspired by Woodmen’s work and how she conveyed her feelings through her work.
She had an unsuccessful application from the National Endowment for the Arts, which according her Father sent her into a deep depression and was most likely the reasoning behind her suicide.
Her work would often involve a ghostly like feel as she would regularly have blurry subjects which gave off a sense of fragility. This demonstrated a rather personal touch to what she was feeling at the time and so she communicated her feelings through her photography.
The images would sometimes include peeled/ cracked paint, empty rooms and a Gothic feel with conveyed a sort of damaged feeling which could be her way of displaying her depressive feelings and describing them as being broken or damaged. The atmosphere which has been given out in the imagery also shows a sense of vulnerability, isolation and the feeling of being alienated. Her photos were very powerful however I feel they are quite different to most other artists of this era which may be why her application was unsuccessful, it is just a shame that this is likely to be what drove her to these dark thoughts.
Some of her images had a personal message , they were hand written underneath the prints which made them have a more intimate feel to them and also makes the audience feel slightly more connected to the work. Handwriting has a very precious and personal feel to it as everybody has a different way of writing meaning that the words written under the images are very powerful.
Her parents would encourage the use of Art and so it is very much the case that Woodman used her practice to communicate her feelings and therefor use it as a form of therapy. Again, she may not have used it as therapy deliberately however, in my mind, if this is how she felt and was able to express these feelings in terms of imagery then it is in fact a form of therapy and self help.