RESEARCH
Inside Out Arts exhibit helps eradicate stigma surrounding mental illness -
'Over 70 individuals in and around Jacksonville have contributed and continue to contribute to the project. Each 12 x 12 canvas and is a visual representation of each artist’s view of their own diagnosis. Family members who have experienced tragic loss due to a loved one’s mental illness have also contributed. Each canvas is extremely unique. Each brave individual participating in the project has “come out” about mental illness and is determined to help minimize the stigma.'
This research shows me that mental illness is suffered all around the world and affects people of all ages, races, ethnicities and religions. It also shows me that there is a stigma around it and it can be shown through art and creative expression which is something that I'd like to try and portray through my work.
4 Artists Who Suffered Mental Illness (And How It Affected Their Art)
- Louis Wain (1860-1939)
- Edvard Munch (1863-1944)
- Francisco de Goya (1746-1828)
- Yannoulis Chalepas (1852-1938)
CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS EXPLORING MENTAL HEALTH
“The sole difference between myself and a madman is the fact that I am not mad!”, Salvador Dali once famously said on the idea of him being a tortured artist. The link between creativity and mental illness has been romanticised, mythologised and studied by psychiatrists and artists alike for decades. What is often left out of the conversation is art’s capacity to transform, heal and strengthen."
I love this quoted by Hunger T, especially the part about how art can transform, heal and strengthen. This is something that intrigues me as I have a personal experience of art doing the same for me.
- Darren MacPherson - 'His colourful pieces explore the human condition through a complex process of layering using acrylics, spray paint, pastel and crayon.in acrylics, spray paint, oil pastel and crayon.'
I love MacPherson's use of colour in this painting. The subject is almost wearing a mask. It shows the layers of mental illness of which there are many.
- Gerry Laffy's works of mixed media pieces in a pop art style have inspired me to create my own similar collages. Putting the foxes heads on the children is such a statement. To me it says that everybody wears a mask, even the children. Gerry uses gold leaf and various other materials layered up.
EXPLORING MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY
'From 1848 through 1858, Hugh Welch Diamond, Medical Superintendent at the Surrey County Asylum and one of the founders of the Royal Photographic Society, created a series of portraits of the patients in his care. His intention at the time was to use these photographs to diagnose and better care for people struggling with mental health issues. Today, the efficacy of this kind of treatment is unclear at best, but Diamond’s pictures remain some of the most well-known from photography’s early history.'
'Among increased conversations about mental health, a new generation of photographers has emerged to document and confront their experience of living with mental illness. In 2015, the London-based photographer and artistic director Daniel Regan created fragmentary.org, a website devoted entirely to exploring mental health through photography and related media.'
- Isaiah and Taylor’s “invisibility” series
"Brave words: a photographic project is helping people with mental health issues express how they truly feel"
https://www.charliecliftphotography.com/work/lets-talk/
Photographers With mental health difficulties
Ideas moving forward :
Secret lives of people - fetishishes, mental health
The masks people wear - mental health
“When we remove the masks of mental illness, we find people underneath: people who have names; people who have characteristics beyond their mental illness because they aren’t defined by that illness. How do we remove these masks that are often tight and suffocating? An important first step is introspection. When we take a long, hard look at who we are—not what condition we’re dealing with but who we are as people—we can identify and embrace our many strengths. When we can come to accept our whole selves, we can remove the mask that makes us feel hidden, even rejected.“
• The ‘I’m ok’ mask – the reality is you’re not ok
• The ‘I’m bright and bubbly’ mask – you’re feeling lonely and depressed
• The ‘I’m here for you’ mask – you really need someone to be there for you
• The ‘I’m calm and in control’ mask – you’re feeling anxious most of the time
• The ‘My relationship is going really well’mask – you’re deeply unhappy in your relationship
Primary research was needed in order to get a feel for mental health for different people and to see if there was a theme amongst them. Below are my findings.
Interviews questions for people with mental health difficulties:
1) What feelings do you feel inside on a bad day and what do you portray on the outside?
2) What is it like living with a mental health condition?
3) Do you feel that there is still stigma around mental health?
4) What kind of reactions do you get from people when you say you suffer from a mental health condition?
5) Do you feel that you wear a mask?
6) If so, what masks do you wear?
FEMALE VIEW
"Q1.I feel broken, living is long and a chore the world and i are damaged lost and like i can never go back and make me right or perfect. I feel alone and having a constant battle with the other voices in my head and sometime its so overpowering i jst wana sleep and not wake up. I feel not good enough i dont even trust myself or my own mind on bad days as whats seems reaaallly good and peaceful is death and selfharm. I despise myself and cnt not be me so i feel stuck afraid really tired from putting up the front and fight..i portray only silence and noone would even know any of this goes on thats how good my front is whilst im having the loudest battle on the inside.
Q2. I use to it..its like. Constant conversation gping on in your head questions doubting battling jumping to and throw.its very me tall emotionally and physically draining as my mental health is now gone to pycho somatic pain to preserve the mond from going into a vegative state
Q3. Yes
Q4.shocked as i dnt discuss it often or talk to people about it its easier that way
Q4 i even have to wear a mask around my partner and sponsor because they don't get my thoughts and i know they aren't normal to others
Q5. I wear the im ok and thats the front thats rarely seen through as i'm so good at it."
MALE VIEW
"1 On a bad day...
Basically I feel broken. My mind races and latches onto things so I guess I would say I feel vulnerable on those days. And I can be irritable and obsessive. The best way for me to manage is with meditation.
2 What’s it like...
Well I have to make sure that I don’t forget to take care of myself. But sometimes I forget how. It’s confusing. I can have very strong feelings which doesn’t help. I have to avoid taking mood or mind altering substances, avoid gambling, I also tend to avoid competitive sport, I have to avoid eating too much unhealthy food and I need to be careful with things like spending money or masturbation. Sometimes I feel very low.
3 Do you feel there is a stigma
It really depends who you talk to. Some people just don’t understand - it’s like they believe that since you understand what you suffer from it shouldn’t be a problem anymore. Many people I know are more understanding than that and have the time to listen and relate their experiences. I prefer to be involved in social networks where people are accepting and understanding of mental health conditions. I often answer questions to friends who do not experience my condition or are unsure if they have a problem with substance misuse. I have occasionally found that a person may be very reluctant. I used to be very reluctant to acknowledge my condition.
4 what reactions...
It’s not something I tell people unless I know that they will be open to a conversation. I do not tell colleagues. I do not mention it to strangers or casual acquaintances. It’s like ... I choose people that I am comfortable sharing this with. I usually find that these people are interested, ask questions, they attempt to diagnose them self and may share their experience. Sometimes people point out the differences. And this can feel quite isolating for me.
5 Do I wear a mask
I put masks on. I’ve done it my whole life. It’s become a way of coping. I don’t need to do it so much anymore as I have learned some tools which help me to manage my mental health. Masks are still a “temporary fix” that I can use to get through a tough day or deal with a challenging person or situation. Many times I deal with social anxiety or general insecurity with humour. This is a joker mask. At other times I deal with a feeling of losing control with analysis and a academic mask.
I did not recognise these masks myself. I had help to see them. Another type of mask I wear is a social chameleon mask where I adopt the characteristics of another person slightly - it’s a way of feeling like fitting in. I think I have always done this when meeting new people.
I also believe I have a stoic mask. Where i refuse to show how I am affected ... this doesn’t always work and the mask comes down very easily with people who know me well. It works very well with people who do not yet know me well."
MALE VIEW
"1.On a bad day I tend to feel sad a lot, nothing really seems to shift that for a maintained period of time. I feel overwhelmed by the amount going on inside my head as well as the things that cause stress around me. And with this I feel helpless and that I’ll be stuck in that rut for the rest of my life. A lot of the day is bogged down by a numbness to the things that may be positive. It generally makes me feel immobile. On the lowest days it makes me feel like what’s the point, you know? Like if you didn’t wake up life would be doing me a favour. In terms of what I portray, I generally I try to just carry on as normal you know? Whether or not it’s convincing or not is a different matter, but the point is more like you don’t want to be anymore of a burden that what I current feel.
2. It’s really tough to be honest. It’s debilitating, just as much so as a physical disability. There are days when I can’t face even getting myself out of bed. Having a mental health issue has affected my work, my academic career, my relationships, everything. It is a constant battle to not let it destroy myself, like climbing a hill that keeps growing taller. And there are definitely moments where you get close to that self-destruct button.
3. Yeah definitely, although I feel it has definitely changed in the way that stigma has changed. I more so feel there’s a stigma from older generations towards younger people afflicted by these conditions. But also where it has begun to more widely spoken about it can also be viewed as a gimmick by others and so people aren’t taken as seriously because people use it as a way to be more noticed.
4. Quite a mix really. Some people kinda look at you as if you’ve got something contagious and others almost roll their eyes, that kinda feeling. There’s definitely a lot of people that still feel uncomfortable when you tell them, and you can get a really awkward vibe from them. But there are also a fair few people that are empathetic and often apologise or lend an ear to talk about it. I had a friend that just hugged me as soon as I told them. And I’ve also had people that just try to fix you as if it’s that simple. So yeah, kinda a mix of reactions.
5. Yeah I would say so. Most the time it’s just putting on a brave face and acting more confident in areas I feel more insecure. Which is so cliché but it goes back to not wanting to feel like a burden to others. Other times it could just be lying and saying everything’s okay when it’s not. But yeah I think trying not to be the person that I feel like inside most the time is a facade that I regularly put on."
FEMALE VIEW
"1. It feels like a heavy grey blanket is pressing down on top of me when I wake up and a feeling of doom seems to seep through my body. I usually tell ***** that I feel fine when he asks and I put on the same face at school as I do every day. I don’t like to tell **** and **** because I don’t want to worry either of you.
2. It’s difficult and desperate at times bacause I long to feel ‘normal’ or what i perceive to be normal, then I try to convince myself that everyone is living with their own demons but then again I see people communicating in the staff room and eating with other people at lunch time and I realise other people are more ‘normal’ than me. My head questions everything and I analyse every little detail of what people say and do, then can dwell on it if I’m feeling low.
3. Yes, with people who are not touched by it, definitely.
4. I have only mentioned it in passing to SOME close colleagues as in- ‘ I have suffered from depression in the past and sometimes have low days’. One close friend knows I have ‘mental health problems’. My boss doesn’t know I struggle with it ongoing.
5. Yes, a LOT of the time.
6. Smiley mask, ‘are you ok? Concerned about other people sort of mask, jokey mask, ‘I’m ‘fine’ mask."
I found this music video directed by Luke Davis for Elderbrook & Rudimental's single 'Something about you'. It’s about the importance of mental health, showcasing an all-male group therapy session railing against the notions of traditional and toxic masculinity, illustrating the beauty in expressing emotions. I think its poignant and I felt emotion whilst watching it. I feel that Luke has really captured the beauty of being able to express emotions.
- 'The two masks associated with drama symbolize the traditional generic division between comedy and tragedy.
A mask is an ancient form of an expressive facial disguise, it was used to frighten enemies and contain identity.
In modern day the mask is generally known to be a symbol of the concealment of the ego behind an artificial mask.
in Romeo and Juliet the masks let the Montagues get into the ball without being noted as the enemies.'
I find it fascinating that in drama the two masks represent comedy and tragedy, there is a close link between the masks that I have found that some people wear. The tragedy being whats worn on the inside and the comedy which is what I worn on the outside.
- 'On a more practical side, these masks and others like them, were worn in the Greek theater to distinguish the different emotions of the characters. Their exaggerated look was so that people who were sitting far off were still able to see the character's emotions. The mouths of the masks were enlarged and designed to make it easier for the actor to talk and for their voices to project to the back of the auditorium. Actors were able to play more than one character because of the masks. When they played other characters, all they had to do was change masks.'
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