Apomogy Showcase

Rachel Lynch

An earnest, heartfelt apology can often create some sharp edges. I’m sure most of us want to say sorry about something (after all, we are only human) and just need a little help to soften the blow. Apomogy is the ongoing community art project about saying you’re sorry with a pom pom. Since September 2015, Rachel Lynch has been receiving candid confessions from strangers following the broadcast of her own “apomogy” on Instagram. After showcasing these colourful-ornaments-of-anonymous-wrongdoings at her recent exhibition with The Print Bar, we caught up with Rachel to discuss what saying sorry really means and what’s next for Apomogy.

Firstly, tell me a bit about yourself.

I am 27, I have 2 sausage dog daughters, and l never expected to start a project about apologising.

What gave you the idea for the Apomogy project?

I made a few tough apologies at the beginning of last year and it got me thinking about what it means to apologise/not apologise.  These thoughts were just stewing inside me until one day, sitting at my desk, I made my first apomogy.  I shared it on social media and the response to the idea was amazing…that kind of inspired me to flesh out the concept

Do you think the word “sorry” is used too often?

 I think it is too often used insincerely or as an alternative to other words.

 How has the project affected you? Have any of the apologies you’ve received impacted your thinking about the project?

 The project has had a pretty massive impact on my life.  There are some apomogies that have shocked me, made me cry…or just lingered with me for days after reading.  The most personally affecting though, was an apomogy that was explicitly directed to me.  A friend who I hadn’t spoken to in 7 years reached out to me via this project with her apomogy “I’m sorry we’re not friends anymore”, and we have remained in contact since.

What’s the heaviest Apomogy you have seen so far?

 I’m sorry I’m disabled, I know that’s not what you signed up for when you gave birth to me”. No explanation needed, am I right!

What’s next for you and Apomogy?

I am excited to keep collecting the anonymous apomogies, and will continue recording stories for the podcast.  I will be doing a TED talk on the project later in the year (which I’m pretty jazzed about)…but otherwise, I’m just excited to keep it going and seeing what other stories it unearths.

http://www.apomogy.com/