By Mike Romero
Esoteric Mormon art collective The ARCH-HIVE is opening its next art show tonight in downtown Provo. Held at Writ & Vision, the show is called “I Am Bound Upon A Wheel of Fire: Obsessive Compulsion of the Soul.”
Using art as a way to examine the human condition, the show examines religious obsessive-compulsive disorder, or scrupulosity. This disorder focuses on moral rectitude and brings with it pathological guilt that can feel impossible to escape, especially because its ties with faith are so intense.
“This show is very important to me because I have had religious OCD for ten years,” says Camilla Stark, co-founder of The ARCH-HIVE and one of three curators for the show. ” It is an oft-misunderstood and under-diagnosed disease, so the show aims to create awareness and give the viewer an understanding of what religious OCD is like.” All participating artists either have OCD or a family member with OCD, and their work will explore the overlap between religion and OCD in their lives. The show features more than 25 Latter-day Saint artists.
The show will also feature an audio exhibit. Using headphones, visitors to the gallery can listen to an audio track of real intrusive thoughts shared by the artists and poets featured in the show. The thoughts echo, loop, and layer, evoking the experience of OCD intrusive thoughts. Sound design is provided by Provo musicians Trevor Harmon and Michael Morrise. Live music and dance performances are scheduled for Friday, December 16, at 7 PM.
The opening reception will take place tonight, December 2, from 6 to 9 PM. Art is on display at Writ & Vision throughout the month of December. For more information, visit The ARCH-HIVE or follow them on Instagram. Check out “Archkeeper” by Alec Viera below. It was inspired by The ARCH-HIVE.
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