A Denver Art Museum exhibit helps visitors confront tough emotions – with help from cuddly, crocheted monsters

In The NOCO

Fear. Anxiety. Shame. And a horde of colorful, crocheted monsters.

It’s all part of a new exhibit at the Denver Art Museum that asks visitors to confront some uncomfortable emotions.

Denver artist Sadie Young has created cuddly and soft monsters with vivid colors and big eyes. And they’re all crocheted out of thousands of yards of yarn. Some are large enough for visitors to step inside.

The exhibit, called The Tangled Self, draws on both her artistic experience and her educational background in psychology, particularly the concept of the shadow self.

Sadie is also the founder and creative director of Spectra Art Space, which specializes in immersive installations. She joined Erin O’Toole to talk about her new exhibit at the DAM, the inspiration behind the creatures, and how she got started with crocheting.

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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.