About the work

I made a sculpture of Basil from the video game Omori. It's hard to tell from the front like this, but he is holding a watermelon (and yes the inside of the watermelon is pink). I depicted him this way because in one of the endings for Omori there are several disturbing scenes of Basil getting hurt, one of which includes him getting crushed like the watermelons in the game. I chose him as my subject for a few reasons. First of all, he is most obviously connected to culture because he is a character from a video game and may be recognizable by people who have played it.

On a deeper level, I think Omori is a great game not only for its characters and story, but because of its message. It covers themes of depression, suicide, as well as many other complex mental themes. I think as a society, mental health is not something that gets brought up and we aren't really taught how to take care of ourselves in that way. I myself have had things I've struggled with be dismissed because people didn't know how to approach the subject. I think it's important to realize that everyone is affected mentally by events in their life (of course on a spectrum with many different ways of manifesting) and we should be more accepting of that. It isn't bad to struggle or feel lost about little things or big things and we shouldn't be afraid to talk to others about what bothers us. Basil reminds me a lot of myself, especially myself a few years ago before I really started to take care of my mental health. His character also revolves around addressing trauma and moving forward, even if it can hurt to do so, because it's really the best thing in the end. I am a huge advocate for healing from your past since I have had to do it myself and found that the results of that endurance are well worth it in the end.