What are you afraid of?

• Main Author: Chua, Xin Yi
• Other Authors: Ina Conradi Chavez
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Visual arts and music::General::Social aspects
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/77604
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With my recent diagnosis with depression and anxiety, I have come to realize my lifelong relationship with fear. Fear is innate and limitless and it comes in every form or semblance imaginable and not. It is in the essence of all living creatures and acts as a precautionary shield. Despite it being a natural defense mechanism, I have always been taught to fight it in order to become ‘courageous’ and ‘strong’. Fear inhibits yet at the same time protects us from harm. The struggle with fighting and embracing what makes me human is what I want to resolve. Through the documentation and compilation of fears, I seek to understand the idea of fear better by looking at it from the eyes of others. Illustration is where I find comfort and solace. It is also my best way of communicating the ineffable and my healthiest way of coping with anxiety. Visualising the invisible creates space for easy understanding and sheds light on the previously unknown. Illustrations are also a universal form of communication that transcends language. Since fear itself is also a universal yet personal experience, illustration, with the aid of words, could have a great impact on forming personal connections with my audience. Through personal contact to seek information, I can get a more truthful and sincere connection with the world around me. This projects tracks my journey in my time of confusion, my growth and my quest to find myself. It is me reaching out to the world in search for understanding and to share the idea of fear and humanity.