{"id":1683,"date":"2025-04-18T04:15:07","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T04:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/as.vanderbilt.edu\/art\/?page_id=1683"},"modified":"2025-04-21T23:06:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T23:06:30","slug":"forever-changed-mckenzie-king","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/as.vanderbilt.edu\/art\/forever-changed-mckenzie-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Forever Changed – McKenzie King"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forever Changed<\/strong><\/em>
\nMcKenzie King<\/h3>\n
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McKenzie King with “Forever Changed” (Senior Show 2025)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

McKenzie King<\/strong> is a current student at Vanderbilt University pursuing a Bachelor of Arts
\nDegree in both Studio Art and Psychology. She is currently exploring new ways of creating art, such as weaving and sculptural works, that connect ideas found in psychology and the world at large. She will be taking a gap year before applying to graduate schools to pursue a higher education in the field of Psychology. She plans to incorporate art into her psychological research and clinical practice in the future. She is especially interested in the neurodivergent community, such as those with ADHD and Autism, and how different people experience the world around them.<\/p>\n

About the work:<\/strong>
\nIn my work, I focus on themes of mental health, physical health, connection, and coping.
\nI use my knowledge of psychology to further inform my pieces, drawing on what I know about
\nmental health and the struggles associated with it. I also draw on personal experiences with
\nmental and physical health both in myself and in those close to me. The piece, \u201cForever
\nChanged,\u201d addresses the ways that health issues can appear suddenly and change your world permanently. The woven aspect of the piece also represents how individuals must come together to form strong communities capable of supporting one another. Each piece of yarn represents a person working to support another person, whether that means physically supporting someone with resources or mentally supporting someone by sharing similarities of their situation. The work addresses the disparity of the American healthcare system, emphasizing how we must be there for each other when the system as a whole will not be.
\nThe elements in the work, the volcano and the willow tree, represent two opposing forces. The volcano represents health issues: sudden, damaging, irreversible, while the willow tree represents the individual: adaptable, enduring, and connected. Throughout many cultures the
\nwillow tree represents all these things, as well as being a symbol of mourning, grief, and rebirth. It symbolizes how challenges can both break us down and rebuild us. Even though the volcano is erupting, the willow tree is still standing tall. If the volcano damages the tree, it will regrow and persevere in spite of it. And even though it will continue to bear the scars of the experience, it will grow stronger because of them.<\/p>\n

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The work:<\/strong><\/p>\n