Tia O’Donnell – Two Shakes of a Rabbits Tail
This autumn we’re confronted with the introspection of our past and present, and our relationships with ‘inanimate’ objects. Inner dialogue and contradictions are excised through mixed mediums in artist Tia O’Donnell’s moving image work ‘Two Shakes of a Rabbits Tail’, now on view at Shoreditch Arts Club.
Still from Two Shakes of a Rabbits Tail, Tia O’Donnell, 2023
The 20-minute film explores themes of therapy through animation, combining sculpture and childlike illustrations to guide us through a personal journey, into the intersection of art, psychology, and self-expression.
Tia’s use of both physical clay sculptures and digital animation highlights the contrast between the tangible, real-world struggles of mental health and the intangible, sometimes illusory nature of the online world. This duality reflects her navigating the divide between her two realms of existence. The tactile process of working with clay and the creative act of animating these sculptures offer a therapeutic release, using figures like childhood toys, cakes, and other childlike illustrations to tap into more vulnerable, closed off aspects of her identity.
This style may evoke a sense of nostalgia or a return to a simpler, less complicated time, providing a contrast to the complexities of her mental health struggles in youth. In her work, Tia explores the idea that inanimate objects are not just lifeless entities but can carry profound emotional and psychological significance. This concept delves into the field of object relations, a psychological theory that suggests objects, both animate and inanimate, play a role in shaping an individual's psyche and relationships — attachment styles, object permanence, and the like.
We’re introduced to our ‘protagonist’, the Rabbit, lazing on his couch, making flippant comments on the cost of living crisis, reaching beyond the animated, fictional realm to touch on real world current events, which sets us up for the exploration of this intersectionality with ease. The Rabbit, resembling a childhood toy itself, invites us to question how we view inanimate objects, and how it affects their perceived worth to us, the ‘owner’ or ‘maker’ of these objects — or are we truly the ‘maker’?
Tia's clay sculptures externalise and give form to her emotions, shaping and manipulating physical objects as a way to embody and make sense of one's inner world, providing a tangible representation of complex feelings. Her work invites viewers to contemplate the dualities and complexities of mental health in the digital age.
Two Shakes of a Rabbits Tail grapples with the idea of reality and perception. Tia is challenging the notion of authenticity in the online world, where individuals can present idealised versions of themselves while concealing their real-life struggles — the same way we conceal our past to control how we are percieved in the present.
Tia O’Donnell is also the artist of the installation ‘I Want a Refund’ on view at Shoreditch Arts Club, a project bringing attention to the exploitative nature of educational institutions during the unprecedented times of the pandemic in 2020.
Tia O'Donnell (b. 1997 London) is a multidisciplinary artist who graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2022. O’Donnell creates artworks that include illustration, painting, collage, sculpting, and video narratives that bring her drawings and sculptures to life. Exhibitions include at Colebrooke Row, Saatchi Gallery, and Groucho Club. Her work has been featured on It’s Nice That and TMRW Magazine.
