The Artist Explains: Grace Davies - 'Invisible'
Grace Davies talks to us about getting emotional in the ladies loos for her powerful single/music video ,‘Invisible’, which explores the themes of mental health, self-isolation, support systems and kindness from strangers.
How does the video connect with the song?
I’ve always been quite good at bottling my emotions up when I’m sad, and not sharing them with people - which is not always a good thing. There’s been times when I’ve been on the verge of an anxiety attack and gone into the toilets to cry and “have a breather” by myself, but no one would ever know. The song touches on how mental health is ‘invisible’ and how nobody would ever know you are going through something unless you directly told them. You go into the loos, you cry, you come back out and wipe your tears, fix your makeup, and pretend it never happened... But with the video I wanted to show the other side of that story, where someone is there to help you through a hard time - even though you might not realise it.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
There’s actually a pretty hilarious story behind the video shoot... Well, hilarious now, but maybe not so much at the time.
I woke up on the morning of the shoot, looked in the mirror and realised I’d had an allergic reaction! My eyes were like golf balls... I looked like Bear Grylls when he got stung by a bee!
I live by myself and I was just screaming and crying hysterically, ringing my manager like “we have to cancel!” (ever the drama queen). I was sat on the tube on my way to the shoot holding ice on my eyes - I think people must have thought I’d been beaten up!
Thankfully the powers of makeup and ice managed to save me in time for filming, but it was super stressful and I think I definitely scared everyone haha!
Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
It seems an odd place to film a music video, but I think the girl’s loos on a night out are a magical place.
I, personally, have had many amazing experiences with strangers in the lavs - sharing hairbrushes, eyelash glue, having someone tell you they love your outfit, and most importantly having someone you’ve never met before lend you a shoulder to cry on should you need it. Lads will never understand what goes on in there - it’s mental.
With such a touching and serious subject, I really wanted to get across that heartwarming message that both your friends and also people you’ve never met before will always listen & be there for you.
Interview by Karla Harris