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Congratulations to the winners
ART AS A RESPONSE TO MENTAL HEALTH 2021
Exhibition Closes 16th July 2021
All works are available to purchase.
Sponsored by
Elisa Rossi - WINNER 1ST PRIZE £400
Title of your work
I formulate infinity and store it somewhere deep inside of me
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
48x36 inches
Price
$4140
Complex PTSD causes a permanent state of fight or flight response in the nervous system, which when stretched over years molds reality under this limited reaction response.
Most of my art and in particular this work have been my best and only way to get out of the trap of fight or flight response and to expand my spectrum of possibilities.
I used to perceive my PTSD as a shameful toll and something that robbed me of my real self forever, without escape, making me feel unworthy. Art changed that. This artwork in particular important to me because it was started at a very challenging time, when I was unable to sleep and day- living chased by flashbacks. Along with its development things changed for the better and quite fast. It offered an opportunity to reinterpret my perception of traumas: it's not all loss, it is also a gift with respect to the capacity of expand the spectrum of emotional and cognitive responses. Parallel realities that I would glimpse in some isolated peaceful moments were turned into this painting and the figures that emerged in it, in spite of being enigmatic and a conundrum still, are definetely friendly beings who make me feel I am never alone.
I formulate infinity and store it somewhere deep inside of me
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
48x36 inches
Price
$4140
Complex PTSD causes a permanent state of fight or flight response in the nervous system, which when stretched over years molds reality under this limited reaction response.
Most of my art and in particular this work have been my best and only way to get out of the trap of fight or flight response and to expand my spectrum of possibilities.
I used to perceive my PTSD as a shameful toll and something that robbed me of my real self forever, without escape, making me feel unworthy. Art changed that. This artwork in particular important to me because it was started at a very challenging time, when I was unable to sleep and day- living chased by flashbacks. Along with its development things changed for the better and quite fast. It offered an opportunity to reinterpret my perception of traumas: it's not all loss, it is also a gift with respect to the capacity of expand the spectrum of emotional and cognitive responses. Parallel realities that I would glimpse in some isolated peaceful moments were turned into this painting and the figures that emerged in it, in spite of being enigmatic and a conundrum still, are definetely friendly beings who make me feel I am never alone.
Ernada Husic - 2ND PRIZE - £300
Title of your work
I tried to fly but I used my wings too soon
Medium
Acrylic painting on canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
100cm x 120cm
This work was done during a pandemic, during the winter period.Feel of helplessness and while we are in confined space and while trying to overcome it all various thoughts pass through our heads.It seems that time has stopped and that every day is one and the same day.
I tried to fly but I used my wings too soon
Medium
Acrylic painting on canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
100cm x 120cm
This work was done during a pandemic, during the winter period.Feel of helplessness and while we are in confined space and while trying to overcome it all various thoughts pass through our heads.It seems that time has stopped and that every day is one and the same day.
James Rocke - 3rD PRIZE - £200
Title of your work
Fragmented
Medium
Oil and graphite on primed watercolour paper
Dimensions (in cm)
56x76 cm
Price
£600
My work is a depiction of my inner struggles, having suffered from depression for many years, I have found that through my art I have been able to find an identity, a means to truly express myself as a person and an artist.
The fragmented self portrait is a reflection of my damaged self, slowly but steadily rebuilding my confidence through a creative process.
Fragmented
Medium
Oil and graphite on primed watercolour paper
Dimensions (in cm)
56x76 cm
Price
£600
My work is a depiction of my inner struggles, having suffered from depression for many years, I have found that through my art I have been able to find an identity, a means to truly express myself as a person and an artist.
The fragmented self portrait is a reflection of my damaged self, slowly but steadily rebuilding my confidence through a creative process.
John Mole - FINALIST
Title of your work
Self-portrait in a blue shirt
Medium
Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
46 x 36
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£220During the pandemic there has been much that has impacted on the mental health of the nation. Children unable to meet their friends, the stress of daily daily news reports detailing horrific numbers of casualties, lack of stimulation for dementia sufferers and so on. As an artist I have struggled to find appropriate subjects for artworks in such circumstances. Eventually I decided on a portrait, to focus on our common humanity. I opted for a self-portrait, not as an inward-looking response, but rather to say: this is me, one human being amongst many, I am getting through, I hope you are too.
Elizaveta Sanglier - FINALIST
Title of your work
Didn’t solve the riddle
Medium
Oil, canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
70cm 50cm
Price:
£1000
This painting depicts a man and a Sphinx. The Sphinx is the personification of the chthonic principle, the horrors of the subconscious. The fate of the man who failed to solve his riddles is a foregone conclusion.
Didn’t solve the riddle
Medium
Oil, canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
70cm 50cm
Price:
£1000
This painting depicts a man and a Sphinx. The Sphinx is the personification of the chthonic principle, the horrors of the subconscious. The fate of the man who failed to solve his riddles is a foregone conclusion.
Ivana Stefanova - FINALIST
Title of your work
Be gentle to yourself
Medium
digital painting
Dimensions (in cm)
40 x 30
Mental health is really complicated but small steps such as treating yourself gently and slowly taking yourself like a flower could do so much!
Be gentle to yourself
Medium
digital painting
Dimensions (in cm)
40 x 30
Mental health is really complicated but small steps such as treating yourself gently and slowly taking yourself like a flower could do so much!
Joanna Cohn - FINALIST
Title of your work
The Sleepers
Medium
Etching
Dimensions (in cm)
40 x 50cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£280 framed, £220 unframed
I used to work at Her Majesty's Theatre in Piccadilly. Every night I would come out of work and see so many homeless sleeping by Piccadilly Circus Tube. I can't help feeling these people, who have had to make the streets their home, should be being supported for the mental health/ addiction issues they are suffering from. It seems exposing your most intimate living - even making the tube entrance your bedroom- only does more damage and means health and wellbeing is even further away. The intimate becomes public, like me performing every night onstage. Only this is not theatre.
The Sleepers
Medium
Etching
Dimensions (in cm)
40 x 50cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£280 framed, £220 unframed
I used to work at Her Majesty's Theatre in Piccadilly. Every night I would come out of work and see so many homeless sleeping by Piccadilly Circus Tube. I can't help feeling these people, who have had to make the streets their home, should be being supported for the mental health/ addiction issues they are suffering from. It seems exposing your most intimate living - even making the tube entrance your bedroom- only does more damage and means health and wellbeing is even further away. The intimate becomes public, like me performing every night onstage. Only this is not theatre.
Abi Price - FINALIST
Title of your work
The Devil In Disguise
Medium
acrylic paint and watercolour
Dimensions (in cm)
81cm by 101.5cm
I decided to create an abstract portraiture piece as a response to mental health 2021.
To convey the struggle of mental health I opted to use contrasting colours on the colour wheel- red and green- in order to demonstrate the inner conflict that many people with mental health issues face. The colour green for me in this piece shows the happy side, the bright and the happiness that people put on as a facade to hide the “red” which to me is the anger, the hurt, the pain and the raw emotion that people internally go through, hence the title “Devil In Disguise” as it shows people hiding their inner demons with a bright cheery front.
This also brings me onto another key colour in my piece that I incorporated to illustrate my message of mental health- gold. I used gold on both sides of the piece to show how the lines become blurred between happiness and sadness when you’re trying to put on a front to make sure people think you’re okay and to hide your internal pain.
I also put gold in there to represent the strength on both sides and how there is strength from both happiness and sadness in life and it can be found in any situation.
I use a lot of subtle symbolism to push the message about mental health out there. I opted to use ginger hair on the good angel side as a subtle way of showing that within happiness is sadness or anger because ginger hair is commonly associated with the devil and generally bad things.
I used sunflowers in the good angel side of the piece to show the strength in being able to get to a point of happiness similarly to the way that sunflowers grow tall, strong and stay stable. Van Gogh famously used sunflowers in his work, and he is known to have struggled with his mental health, so I added them to pay tribute to him.
The devil side of my piece represents bad mental health, so I used a devil horn to show the way that society depicts bad mental illness in a negative way and paints people that struggle with mental health as inherently bad and evil manipulative people- which is simply not true. The devil side has cracks across the face that start to seep into the happy side to show that when we eternally break down the façade we put on begins to break and at that point we have to get help.
I included a question mark instead of a face in this piece to show that mental illness doesn’t have a “look” and anyone can suffer with poor mental health, and we can tell who at face value.
I used a black border that slowly gets thicker in some sections of the piece to show how in a state of bad mental health you feel like you’re being suffocated and drowned in the darkness, loneliness of your suffering. The chaotic red, orange and black background is there to represent fire and flames, which shows how unpredictable and changeable someone’s mental state can be, but I also included gold in there to show the strength that you can still find in yourself when going through a mental illness.
I relate to so much that I put into this piece. One of the main things that you can take from this piece is that as a 14-year-old year 10 student lockdown and home schooling has been a hard time for us, and it is easy to see how it has had a negative effect on so many of my peer’s mental health. The devil side can be interpreted as us feeling down, under pressure to keep doing well and uncertain of what’s going to happen to our education in terms of exams, qualifications and future careers, as well as wondering when we would next go to school. The happy angel side shows the relief of being able to see friends again when lockdown lifted, and school resumed and hoping things are going to be going back to normal. However the green also shows the envy of when being back at school, wishing to be back at home laying in, doing home school in in pj’s.
Doing this piece to represent mental health and being able to show people’s struggles and stories felt very freeing because it makes it feel like peoples' voices including my own are being heard. Moreover, I use art to cope with everything going on in the world and it helps me so much It is something I can project on to and show people they are not alone in whatever they are going through. I hope you can see that in my work.
Richard Tony - FINALIST
Title of your work
Idol Hands
Medium
Original Art Print
Dimensions (in cm)
29.7 x 42
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£70.00
The focus of this piece is on the idolisation of money and issues surrounding money, as it reflects my own personal mental struggle with it.
This piece came about because I wanted to show the effects that addictions and strongholds can have on ones life and mind, and ultimately how the happiness of it is short lived.
Your addiction can become your idol, and this can lead you to some very dark places. That is what I am trying to capture in this piece - the control, deceitfulness, evil, and darkness of addictions. Yet, your addiction can also be desirable, and this desire is what leads to the mental battles raging inside you, the thoughts and choices that you try and fight everyday. In todays world this is a fight that many people can relate to.
Idol Hands
Medium
Original Art Print
Dimensions (in cm)
29.7 x 42
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£70.00
The focus of this piece is on the idolisation of money and issues surrounding money, as it reflects my own personal mental struggle with it.
This piece came about because I wanted to show the effects that addictions and strongholds can have on ones life and mind, and ultimately how the happiness of it is short lived.
Your addiction can become your idol, and this can lead you to some very dark places. That is what I am trying to capture in this piece - the control, deceitfulness, evil, and darkness of addictions. Yet, your addiction can also be desirable, and this desire is what leads to the mental battles raging inside you, the thoughts and choices that you try and fight everyday. In todays world this is a fight that many people can relate to.
Nicola Morley - FINALIST
Title of your work
If I Cry, My Tears Will Be Solid Morphine
Medium
Photographic print on Gylcee paper
Dimensions (in cm)
70x50cm
Price
£120
This project is in response to my once active mother coming to terms with terminal illness and healing our brokenness.
In October 2018 my mother drove the long journey from rural Lancashire to London. The next day she went to a funeral in Windsor before driving all the way back. She was 85, alert, active and fiercely independent.
People would ask me how she was.
I’d say “Infuriating”,
They would laugh.
Within the year she had developed a lung disorder. She suffered torturous pain. Her skin tore like tissue paper. She ate sweet biscuits to give her energy.
We needed to mend. In the making of this project, she allowed me in at her most vulnerable. In turn I cared for her.
Only months later, still fighting, she gasped for breath. I held her as her fingers became soft and her arms as fluid as a ballerina. In that moment, she was gentle. In that moment, she became a memory.
Sara Burr - FINALIST
Title of your work
Caged In
Medium
Paint (acrylic/watercolour)
Dimensions (in cm)
21 x 30 cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£30
The girl is stuck in her cage where she cannot escape her thoughts. The key to freedom is hidden from her and she can’t find the path to it. The use of the bird cage is to symbolise the people who don’t understand the inner battle she is facing but see her as “cuckoo”. Trying to call out for help, the telephone has been cut off and the recipient cannot hear her. She is also struggling to actually say the words hence why they have been scribbled on the wall. The weight of her deteriorating mental health, she carries everywhere she goes and cages her in.
Caged In
Medium
Paint (acrylic/watercolour)
Dimensions (in cm)
21 x 30 cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£30
The girl is stuck in her cage where she cannot escape her thoughts. The key to freedom is hidden from her and she can’t find the path to it. The use of the bird cage is to symbolise the people who don’t understand the inner battle she is facing but see her as “cuckoo”. Trying to call out for help, the telephone has been cut off and the recipient cannot hear her. She is also struggling to actually say the words hence why they have been scribbled on the wall. The weight of her deteriorating mental health, she carries everywhere she goes and cages her in.
Anastasiia Viekua - FINALIST
Title of your work
Shadow
Medium
A3
Dimensions (in cm)
29,7×42,0
This photowork adresses the darkness inside me, that I need to respect in order to have a fulfilled life. I want to show that I contain extreme opposites like softness and rigidity, light and shadow, female and male. And there is no way to escape from pain without loosing joy. You either feel everything or you don’t feel at all.
Shadow
Medium
A3
Dimensions (in cm)
29,7×42,0
This photowork adresses the darkness inside me, that I need to respect in order to have a fulfilled life. I want to show that I contain extreme opposites like softness and rigidity, light and shadow, female and male. And there is no way to escape from pain without loosing joy. You either feel everything or you don’t feel at all.
Evenflow Creations (Natalie) - FINALIST
Title of your work
After Dark
Medium
Alcohol ink on Yupo paper - framed piece
Dimensions (in cm)
21 x 30 (painting without mount or frame)
Price )
£80
“Art for mental health is something which is very close to my heart. In 2020 my world changed forever when I was diagnosed with a life limiting disease and went through emergency life-changing surgery. It was by far the darkest time of my life; I felt shocked to my core by what had happened and simply couldn’t accept the person I had become post-op.
I went through a deep depression where I prayed for death many times. My physical recovery is still ongoing with my fight far from over, and I mourn for the woman I was pre-2020. Every day is a struggle both physically and mentally, but I now accept that recovery is a long process that will not be rushed.
It was during my darkest of time that I began painting again. This is something that I hadn’t done in many years, but I instantly found it to be great escapism. When I paint, I don’t think about my trauma, depression, disability or the limited life in front of me. I get completely lost in the creativity. Painting has been my saviour and I would recommend this process to anyone struggling with their mental health.”
After Dark
Medium
Alcohol ink on Yupo paper - framed piece
Dimensions (in cm)
21 x 30 (painting without mount or frame)
Price )
£80
“Art for mental health is something which is very close to my heart. In 2020 my world changed forever when I was diagnosed with a life limiting disease and went through emergency life-changing surgery. It was by far the darkest time of my life; I felt shocked to my core by what had happened and simply couldn’t accept the person I had become post-op.
I went through a deep depression where I prayed for death many times. My physical recovery is still ongoing with my fight far from over, and I mourn for the woman I was pre-2020. Every day is a struggle both physically and mentally, but I now accept that recovery is a long process that will not be rushed.
It was during my darkest of time that I began painting again. This is something that I hadn’t done in many years, but I instantly found it to be great escapism. When I paint, I don’t think about my trauma, depression, disability or the limited life in front of me. I get completely lost in the creativity. Painting has been my saviour and I would recommend this process to anyone struggling with their mental health.”
Claudia Tong - FINALIST
Title of your work
A waking dream
Medium
watercolour
Dimensions (in cm)
30*40
This work abstractly portrays a person who is going through a psychological turmoil with all kinds of thoughts and emotions exploding within his/her mind. Mental health is personal, yet universal to all human beings, just like the skull which could be anyone's.
Supun Gamage - FINALIST
Title of your work
Calmness of the Lights of Eternity
Medium
Watercolors on paper
Dimensions (in cm)
12.5 x 15.5
Price
120$
Calmness of the Lights of Eternity is one of my fine arts in which I see not only stars but also the need of attraction towards that category as well. Don't just draw it... Feel it... Let others wander in the fantasy that you have in your mind...
Starry night skies are one of my favorites which help me to regain the calmness in my mind during harder times. Even in these pandemic times, we are living more stressful lives. If you can free your time for five minutes and go outside to feel the night sky and its quietness, it would be like a medicine to your mind. I added colors to this artwork hoping that every human soul in the world might feel that unspoken calmness and quietness in their minds through this artwork
Calmness of the Lights of Eternity
Medium
Watercolors on paper
Dimensions (in cm)
12.5 x 15.5
Price
120$
Calmness of the Lights of Eternity is one of my fine arts in which I see not only stars but also the need of attraction towards that category as well. Don't just draw it... Feel it... Let others wander in the fantasy that you have in your mind...
Starry night skies are one of my favorites which help me to regain the calmness in my mind during harder times. Even in these pandemic times, we are living more stressful lives. If you can free your time for five minutes and go outside to feel the night sky and its quietness, it would be like a medicine to your mind. I added colors to this artwork hoping that every human soul in the world might feel that unspoken calmness and quietness in their minds through this artwork
MUTEBER BURUNSUZ - FINALIST
Title of your work
UNTITLE
Medium
WATERCOLOR ON PAPER
Dimensions (in cm)
25X35 CM.
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£ 100
With different composition possibilities, the visual perception created by asymmetric densities on the surface exists with the fluctuations of line values. The layers of meaning, in which the objects of the outer world are symbolized and the colors are expressed with the integrity of lines and spots, are articulated on top of each other and form a layered discourse. The undefined aesthetic experience of irregular objects, transcendent immanentities, strive for existence. The forms in which the remnants of reality turn into emotional language are included in the aesthetic experience with the dynamic structure. First of all, certain color or color combinations do not impose content on a concept, but exist on their own within their own conceptual integrity. New constructions move towards a spatial journey with a coincidental integrity, with metaphor possibilities. Transformable images look inward and question the limitation that exists in limitlessness. The questioning of colors and the content it transmits will also affect our visual mind and memories.
UNTITLE
Medium
WATERCOLOR ON PAPER
Dimensions (in cm)
25X35 CM.
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£ 100
With different composition possibilities, the visual perception created by asymmetric densities on the surface exists with the fluctuations of line values. The layers of meaning, in which the objects of the outer world are symbolized and the colors are expressed with the integrity of lines and spots, are articulated on top of each other and form a layered discourse. The undefined aesthetic experience of irregular objects, transcendent immanentities, strive for existence. The forms in which the remnants of reality turn into emotional language are included in the aesthetic experience with the dynamic structure. First of all, certain color or color combinations do not impose content on a concept, but exist on their own within their own conceptual integrity. New constructions move towards a spatial journey with a coincidental integrity, with metaphor possibilities. Transformable images look inward and question the limitation that exists in limitlessness. The questioning of colors and the content it transmits will also affect our visual mind and memories.
Gianlluca Carneiro - FINALIST
Title of your work
Blue mood, blue heart
Medium
acrylic on canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
80 cm x 50 cm x 3 cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
US$ 1000.00
This work of art is part of a series called "doses of feeling" that explores human emotions during the pandemic. This art, in particular, is a dialogue about loneliness and depression. When I painted this work, I was in a period of extreme sadness and it was through this artpiece that I was able to get up and improve day after day.
Blue mood, blue heart
Medium
acrylic on canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
80 cm x 50 cm x 3 cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
US$ 1000.00
This work of art is part of a series called "doses of feeling" that explores human emotions during the pandemic. This art, in particular, is a dialogue about loneliness and depression. When I painted this work, I was in a period of extreme sadness and it was through this artpiece that I was able to get up and improve day after day.
Sashko Balabai - FINALIST
Title of your work
LESYA UKRAINKA. FOREST SONG. KILINA`S CHILDREN AND STARVELINGS
Medium
canvas, acrylic
Dimensions (in cm)
60x80
I have a 14-year-old son who had also to decrease contacts with friends and get an online education during quarantine. I think a lot about how he is influenced by this situation and about children mental health. My painting describes children from the play of Lesya Ukrainka, behind which are mythical heroes - Starvellings, eternally hungry, evil creatures who can swallow our children in the dark world of ignorant, untalented and poor. Today it is happening because of a pandemic, once caused by political and economic problems in Ukraine, restrictions on the rights of the countryside population. Children have empty plates and smart toys, but with an empty stomach and, in my opinion, due to lack of knowledge, an empty head, there are no opportunities to develop, learn, become better.
LESYA UKRAINKA. FOREST SONG. KILINA`S CHILDREN AND STARVELINGS
Medium
canvas, acrylic
Dimensions (in cm)
60x80
I have a 14-year-old son who had also to decrease contacts with friends and get an online education during quarantine. I think a lot about how he is influenced by this situation and about children mental health. My painting describes children from the play of Lesya Ukrainka, behind which are mythical heroes - Starvellings, eternally hungry, evil creatures who can swallow our children in the dark world of ignorant, untalented and poor. Today it is happening because of a pandemic, once caused by political and economic problems in Ukraine, restrictions on the rights of the countryside population. Children have empty plates and smart toys, but with an empty stomach and, in my opinion, due to lack of knowledge, an empty head, there are no opportunities to develop, learn, become better.
Lisa Banks - FINALIST
Title of your work
Narcissus and Nymph
Medium
pencils and wash on paper
Dimensions (in cm)
115x112cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£250
This image explores a scene where Narcissus is overthinking and has become oblivious. On the other side of the picture the nymph is more engaged in the environment. Overthinking can effect us all and each of us has to find a way of managing our mental health through engagement in the world around us.
Narcissus and Nymph
Medium
pencils and wash on paper
Dimensions (in cm)
115x112cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£250
This image explores a scene where Narcissus is overthinking and has become oblivious. On the other side of the picture the nymph is more engaged in the environment. Overthinking can effect us all and each of us has to find a way of managing our mental health through engagement in the world around us.
May Hopkins - FINALIST
Title of your work
Validation
Medium
Acrylic
Dimensions (in cm)
90cm x80cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£800
I painted this piece during lockdown, I’m a prolific artist but lockdown stunted my creativity negatively, I was struggling with motivation, my delightful ex viciously claimed I had no validation in my life and as a direct response I got my brushes out and harboured all my anger and emotion into this piece. The only validation one needs is within, self love and care are paramount, with an extra helping of creativity.
Validation
Medium
Acrylic
Dimensions (in cm)
90cm x80cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£800
I painted this piece during lockdown, I’m a prolific artist but lockdown stunted my creativity negatively, I was struggling with motivation, my delightful ex viciously claimed I had no validation in my life and as a direct response I got my brushes out and harboured all my anger and emotion into this piece. The only validation one needs is within, self love and care are paramount, with an extra helping of creativity.
Eloise Curtis - SPECIAL SELECTION
Title of your work
I want to break free
Medium
Marker Pen
Dimensions (in cm)
75cm x 80cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£30
As lockdown begins to ease in restrictions for much of the population, I have found my personal freedoms have plummeted on an inverse trajectory. I am sectioned under the mental health act which means (among other things) locked exits, metal detectors, no shoelaces, limited access to art materials, no privacy to go for a wee.
Within the drawing I have tried to use symbolism and striking contrast to describe the concept of freedom and what freedom means to different people. For some, freedom might mean going to the pub, seeing their extended family. For me, right now, the ultimate freedom is being allowed a pen.
This drawing is made with marker pen on the back of wrapping paper. I currently have no access to the materials I would usually use to create art and so have improvised. The staff are supportive and kind, (probably quite thankful I didn't scrawl directly on their walls.) and I would like to thank them for their support and help.
There is always hope.
I want to break free
Medium
Marker Pen
Dimensions (in cm)
75cm x 80cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£30
As lockdown begins to ease in restrictions for much of the population, I have found my personal freedoms have plummeted on an inverse trajectory. I am sectioned under the mental health act which means (among other things) locked exits, metal detectors, no shoelaces, limited access to art materials, no privacy to go for a wee.
Within the drawing I have tried to use symbolism and striking contrast to describe the concept of freedom and what freedom means to different people. For some, freedom might mean going to the pub, seeing their extended family. For me, right now, the ultimate freedom is being allowed a pen.
This drawing is made with marker pen on the back of wrapping paper. I currently have no access to the materials I would usually use to create art and so have improvised. The staff are supportive and kind, (probably quite thankful I didn't scrawl directly on their walls.) and I would like to thank them for their support and help.
There is always hope.
Helen Toluwa - SPECIAL SELECTION
Title of your work
Unbridled
Medium
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
91 x 61
Over the past 10 years I have become increasingly disabled by illness. Previously, I was very active, travelling solo around the world, participating in competitive sports and running every day. Adjusting my sense of self and learning to live in a body that can do much less, and some days nothing at all, has been very challenging for my mental health. In art, I find freedom and purpose, and manage depression. I use texture, layers and vibrant colours to tell the story of who I am inside this body.
Unbridled
Medium
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions (in cm)
91 x 61
Over the past 10 years I have become increasingly disabled by illness. Previously, I was very active, travelling solo around the world, participating in competitive sports and running every day. Adjusting my sense of self and learning to live in a body that can do much less, and some days nothing at all, has been very challenging for my mental health. In art, I find freedom and purpose, and manage depression. I use texture, layers and vibrant colours to tell the story of who I am inside this body.
Bonnie Dixson - SPECIAL SELECTION.
Title of your work
Why you always in a mood?
Medium
Mixed media, collage, acrylic, and oil
Dimensions (in cm)
24.8 x 19.8 cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£130.00
I, myself struggle with PTSD, and it can flare up by the most minute triggers. Dealing with this is an ongoing practice that I try to supress daily, which will often lead to quirky behaviours (OCD) and mood swings.
In my attempt of self help, I began to create artworks reflecting my moods a while ago, creating a collection of artworks that each capture a moment or a thought within my life, reflecting my own mental health. This process has helped me massively, especially reactions from others on social media also stating they feel the same at times.
Knowing we are not alone can be the key to recovery.
I will often try to add in a little humour into my work along with colour to prevent the meaning from becoming to dark. Due to this process I fully embrace my own mental health and use it for my inspiration.
Why you always in a mood?
Medium
Mixed media, collage, acrylic, and oil
Dimensions (in cm)
24.8 x 19.8 cm
Price (please leave blank if not for sale)
£130.00
I, myself struggle with PTSD, and it can flare up by the most minute triggers. Dealing with this is an ongoing practice that I try to supress daily, which will often lead to quirky behaviours (OCD) and mood swings.
In my attempt of self help, I began to create artworks reflecting my moods a while ago, creating a collection of artworks that each capture a moment or a thought within my life, reflecting my own mental health. This process has helped me massively, especially reactions from others on social media also stating they feel the same at times.
Knowing we are not alone can be the key to recovery.
I will often try to add in a little humour into my work along with colour to prevent the meaning from becoming to dark. Due to this process I fully embrace my own mental health and use it for my inspiration.
Patrick Hannay-Zaia - SPECIAL SELECTION
Title of your work
Left To The Ghosts (right to the dancefloor)
Medium
analog photo collage
Dimensions (in cm)
43 X 62
In 1986, at the age of 21, I was hospitalized with both suicidal tendencies and HIV. I was told that I had at the most 4 months to live (and I was told this in front of my mothers). One of the only nurses who dared spend any time in my room taught me to use collage as as form of self reflection and therapy. I still feel that I do not create my works but that they create themselves. This one came from me revisiting that time, almost 35 years ago; the loneliness, the isolation, my mothers trying to be so brave for me while my father offered nothing useful. All the while, I nursed a small egg of hope that there would be more to my story than that cold, stale hospital room. This is what I read into it AFTER contemplating what the work has become.
Left To The Ghosts (right to the dancefloor)
Medium
analog photo collage
Dimensions (in cm)
43 X 62
In 1986, at the age of 21, I was hospitalized with both suicidal tendencies and HIV. I was told that I had at the most 4 months to live (and I was told this in front of my mothers). One of the only nurses who dared spend any time in my room taught me to use collage as as form of self reflection and therapy. I still feel that I do not create my works but that they create themselves. This one came from me revisiting that time, almost 35 years ago; the loneliness, the isolation, my mothers trying to be so brave for me while my father offered nothing useful. All the while, I nursed a small egg of hope that there would be more to my story than that cold, stale hospital room. This is what I read into it AFTER contemplating what the work has become.
Jenny Blount - SPECIAL SELECTION
Title of your work:
The Last Bath I Gave Her
Medium
Brush pen on watercolour paper
Dimensions (in cm):
35x69
Price :
£750
The painting depicts the last bath I gave my mother; it was the first image I made of her a day or two after she died.
I wrapped her in a towel far too big for her fledgling body. We were both quiet, and gently so, as if sensing that this particular bath time must be special, and thorough and lasting. She pecked me on the cheek; the same woman who had been so ill and so desperate she’d hit her own baby - and the baby grew up taking care of her mother and never had children herself.
I made this image in the first flush of grief; knowing that the mother who’d abused me was also the mother I loved and missed. She never knew how much therapy I’d had, or why. In her view I’d always been tense; I was even tense as a baby and that’s why she’d had to hit me. To make me go to sleep.
Mother had dementia in the last three years of her life, which is when she came to live with me. She was imperious, eccentric and endlessly demanding, also funny, witty, charming and infuriating. Art was an activity of mine she thoroughly approved of. I used to work and she’d fall asleep whilst watching me.
‘Look mum!’ I’d say when she woke up, ‘what do you think?’
‘Oh, yes!’ She’d say, ‘It’s lovely dear! (and then add with great daring) Don’t accept anything less than £20!’
The Last Bath I Gave Her
Medium
Brush pen on watercolour paper
Dimensions (in cm):
35x69
Price :
£750
The painting depicts the last bath I gave my mother; it was the first image I made of her a day or two after she died.
I wrapped her in a towel far too big for her fledgling body. We were both quiet, and gently so, as if sensing that this particular bath time must be special, and thorough and lasting. She pecked me on the cheek; the same woman who had been so ill and so desperate she’d hit her own baby - and the baby grew up taking care of her mother and never had children herself.
I made this image in the first flush of grief; knowing that the mother who’d abused me was also the mother I loved and missed. She never knew how much therapy I’d had, or why. In her view I’d always been tense; I was even tense as a baby and that’s why she’d had to hit me. To make me go to sleep.
Mother had dementia in the last three years of her life, which is when she came to live with me. She was imperious, eccentric and endlessly demanding, also funny, witty, charming and infuriating. Art was an activity of mine she thoroughly approved of. I used to work and she’d fall asleep whilst watching me.
‘Look mum!’ I’d say when she woke up, ‘what do you think?’
‘Oh, yes!’ She’d say, ‘It’s lovely dear! (and then add with great daring) Don’t accept anything less than £20!’
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