Specimen

August 6–30
Blackfish Gallery
Portland, OR

Humans are deeply complex creatures, our inner worlds are rich, inventive, bursting with creativity and emotion, all so individual and hard to translate into words and imagery. For someone living with the daily impact of Bipolar 2, your inner world may shift in ways that feel unpredictable or surprising, even to yourself, and difficult for others to fully understand. Bipolar is not as simple as happy or sad, it can impact cognition, emotional regulation, identity, relationships… Specimen captures Hannah Theiss’ inner landscape; investigating, exposing, and expressing her felt sense. Using ink, glass, wood, Theiss translates the textural, colorful, shifting landscape or her lived reality into a visual cacophony.

Hannah was interviewed as a part of Art Focus on
KBOO radio with host Joseph Gallivan-

Listen to the Interview

Show Length

August 6-30
Wednesday–Sunday, 11–5pm
Blackfish Gallery

Opening Reception

Thursday, August 7, 5–8pm

Artist Talk

Saturday, August 16, 2pm

Meet the Artist

at Blackfish Gallery

Sunday, August 24, 11–5pm
Saturday, August 30, 11–5pm

Specimen (2021)
Mixed Media (microscope slides, paint)
40” X 15” (NFS)

100 day mood journal made of paint and microscope slides. Upon my Bipolar II diagnosis, I began the normal recommended regimens of journaling, and mood tracking, however I never felt like a single number was capable of capturing the complexity of moods that I felt. I began painting the slides as a way to capture my mood in an abstract and spontaneous manner. The paint on the slides has dried and cracked over time just as my memories of each individual day have done as well.

Collaboration Credit to Takahiro Moriki