Trypophobia- Mixed Media Quilling Art

Trypophobia- “an intense, irrational fear of holes” according to Urban Dictionary.  I stumbled across this word while surfing the web the other day, and was instantly intrigued.  I don’t believe trypophobia is an officially recognized disorder, or even an official word, but it seems to be gaining quite a following.  I guess there are a lot of people out there who are completely terrified of holes and lumps, whether standing alone, or clustered together in random patterns.  The images you’ll see pop up when you do a google search for trypophobia are pretty gross, although many are obviously photoshopped.  But it was interesting to realize something about myself as I was reading about these irrational fears- I do not have them.  In fact, I think I have the opposite, whatever that would be called.  Clusters and patterns of holes and bumps fascinate me- I get drawn in.  Perhaps not into the gruesome pictures you’ll see on the internet, but specifically the ones I put into my art.  Here is my newest piece.  I’ve called it, conveniently enough, Trypophobia.

I tried a new thing with the acrylic paint I used for the background. I didn’t want to just paint it; I wanted to experiment with a new technique. So I used a cookie sheet, smeared some colors onto it, and added some water. Then I dragged each piece through the water and paint, both on the front, and on the sides. It took a little practice, but all the water I used worked to make rivers of paint on the canvases that, when they dried, looked pretty awesome. I was careful to steer clear of those parts when I added my paper pieces on each square.

 So, what do these random clusters and smears of color represent?  I never can decide.  Organisms in the sea?  particles in the sky?

Perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to get lost in each one- you can never be sure that what you’re seeing is how it was meant to be seen.  As long as you see something, then it matters.  Then, it’s important.

Do you have Trypophobia?