DIMH2020 Digital Art Gallery
Thank you to all the artists who submitted their work.
Michael Adesina
SHANALI PERERA
Isolation, continuity, and flow of life
I’m a digital artist based in Manchester UK. I use colour as a method to capture and portray energies surrounding pain, fatigue, and my every day, living with illness in an attempt to objectify the subjective. Isolation is subjective. Our individual perception of it, how we connect with it inwardly and outwardly, varies. My own relationship with isolation as a concept and a process, how it makes me act and feel, prompted me to explore this further. When I first started having my symptoms and in the process of being investigated, I was sent home until there was a management plan and it was just me staring at the walls in my house not knowing what to expect and when it's all going to get worse. I couldn't go out of the house or go out with my friends, no social life and everything seemed to freeze. I found it so hard to explain it to others. Although the circumstances were very different, a degree of isolation is something you get accustomed to I guess, when you go through long term illness and it perhaps even becomes part of your life. In the face of complexed encounters flow continues...
GARFIELD OF LONDON
Conceptual artist Garfield of London creates surreal, hypnotic, and multi-sensory artworks that draw you in to take you on a journey of self-discovery. Each composition is a self portrait featuring 'The Symbol of GAH!' and reflects different aspects of: self-discovery, self-love, and self-acceptance. The GAH symbol started life as a minimalistic self-portrait that he used with a family member who suffered with mental health issues. Using hypnotherapy he anchored their memories of feeling happy, to everytime they viewed the symbol. When they were on their own they would focus on the symbol to trigger & re-live their positive feelings to help them manage moments of negative thoughts and despair. LinkedIn: Garfield@LinkedIn Insta: Garfield of London Web: The Art Of GAH!
Inner Vision Quest
Passion & Desire, Life & Breath
Planting of Seeds
Illumination
Find Your Hidden Treasure
JERRY YI
Jerry Yi is a medicine and neuroscience student ar King's College London, UK. The dichotomy of the left and right brain are represented in this piece below called “Duo” with the head of Leonardo da Vinci. Though anatomically similar, the left brain specialises in speech, verbal/mathematical reasoning and memory, and the right brain in nonverbal reasoning, retrograde memory, and music. The polymath da Vinci embodies a perfect union of these two divergent yet inseparable halves. We can see almost anything to do with the brain and mind in twos - calm and anxiety, mania and depression, the conscious and subconscious; these dichotomies and everything in between makes us who we are.
Duo
AMARNO INAI
I am a self-taught Visual artist with an interest in exploring how art communicates the human experience. My work is informed by my personal journey, existential questions, world philosophy, culture and events. Themes that explore the subconscious, the Occult, symbolism, allegory and surrealism. I create images as a response to the challenges and triumphs on my life’s journey, these reflect my subconscious and is a reaction to the world around me. Through my work, I aim to create imagery that speaks to the human experience; our dreams and our fears, emerging knowledge, wisdom and truth. I seek to pose questions through my work so that those who seek answers too, have a visual reference to draw upon as well as have a means to articulate their own thoughts. My creative medium consists of pen, coloured pencil and water colour. I draw my inspiration from visual artists and musicians such as LUCIAN STANCLUESCU, WILLIAM BLAKE, LISA WRIGHT, GEORGE CONDO, CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX ART, KANYE WEST, JAH 9, SIZZLA KALONJI.
The Trapped: This piece is a physical embodiment of overthinking. I have always been an introspective thinker. When mixed with anxiety, a negative view of the self, others and the world, introspection can spiral and become a series of relentless debilitating thoughts. We can become imprisoned by our own thoughts and our own mind can become a hellish place to be in. MUSICAL INSPIRATION: Kanye West - FML, So Appalled, Lost in the World. Attack on Titan - Ending Theme 2, Disturbed - Land Of Confusion. Diplo - Wish.
Crushed by time: This piece represents anxiety derived from the concept of time. I often feel that I am not where I am supposed to be; I constantly feel that I haven’t made enough progress and that the time to complete my goals and leave a legacy that justifies my existence is running out. The reality of death and how rapidly it’s approaching played on my mind so often that it became debilitating and felt like I was slowly being crushed by time itself. MUSICAL INSPIRATION: Muse - New Born, Space Dementia, Bliss. Death Note - Ending Theme (Alumina - Nightmare). Kanye West - Lost in the World.
Rage: This piece represents rage; rage that has been bottled up for years, anger that has not been addressed because of a societal and cultural pressure to suppress emotions, a pressure which is even more acutely felt by those who are black and male. I internalised my anger because of the pressure I felt. The raging hounds surrounding me in this image represent how individuals can feel an angry aura around themselves while simultaneously reaching boiling point. For me, this also led to physical symptoms like muscle tension and stress headaches. MUSICAL INSPIRATION: Bullet For My Valentine - Hand Of Blood, Hit the Floor. Kanye West - Monster, Black Skinhead. How To Destroy Angels - Keep it Together. Beyonce - Hip Hop Star/Freakum Dress (The Formation World Tour), Don’t Hurt Yourself, Ring the Alarm (The Formation World Tour).
Female Energy: This piece symbolises the interventions of women in my life, which was, and has always been, one of the greatest catalysts for the improvement of my mental health. Whether directly through conversations and relationships, or indirectly through music, videos and advocacy, women have intervened for the better in my life in times of crisis or during transition periods. Music from The Clark Sisters, The Anointed Pace Sisters, Jah 9, Lauryn Hill, Jhene Aiko and Dezarie, and reality shows like Iyanla: Fix My Life and The R Spot on YouTube helped me to recognise buried traumas and take steps to do something about them. MUSICAL INSPIRATION: Willow Smith - Female Energy, 9. The Clark Sisters - Centre Thy Will, Ha Ya (Eternal Life), Endow Me, Is My Living In Vain, Prayers of the Righteous. Twinkie Clark - Trust In Him, Fountain of Blood. Myrna Summers - Oh Give Thanks.
The Choice: This piece is an embodiment of me finally acknowledging that I had depression and anxiety. After watching the motivational videos that I did, I recognised that I was in a sea of confusion and that I had a choice either to move towards a realm of even deeper depression or towards the door to light and to healing. MUSICAL INSPIRATION: The Anointed Pace Sisters - Hands of God, Too Close. Fred Hammond - Don’t Pass Me By. The Anointed Pace Sisters - You’re In The Hands Of God (Original) (1990). Monoral - Kiri. Lauryn Hill - I Gotta Find Peace of Mind.
Lakshmi: This piece represents my former romantic partner. Though our relationship ended, she was a light, a confidant and a great friend that helped me bring light to past traumas, caught me at my lowest and worked with me to release my potential and expose me to new possibilities and realities that I otherwise would have never explored with my negative worldview, and slowly imploding as I was. In our conversations I would always describe her as Lakshmi. Being around her was like finding a secret, bright, warm forest; a place of peace and solitude. MUSICAL INSPIRATION: Jhene Aiko - None of Your Concern. Luther Vandross - If This World Were Mine. Laura Mvula - Show Me Love. Hannah Williams & The Affirmations - Late Nights & Heartbreak. H.E.R - Losing. Faith Evans - Kissing You, Soon As I Get Home, Reasons.
Destruction of the Ego: This piece epitomises me taking back control of my inner spirit. To move forward, I had to have honest conversations with myself, destroy the ego and replace it with the spiritual principles of care, self love and The Creator’s directive for me.
MUSICAL INSPIRATION: Monoral - Kiri. Florence and the Machine - Shake It Out. Jah 9 - Humble Mi.
Reflection: This piece symbolises negative feelings and thoughts that can still linger even in the place of peace that I now find myself in. The difference is, I now observe those thoughts and feelings with clarity and from a distance. I thereby acknowledge the hold that negative thoughts and feelings used to have over me, but can now see them for what they are and can separate them from my true self. MUSICAL INSPIRATION: Monoral - Turbulence. Charlene Soraia - Wherever You Will Go. Maurice Ravel - Pavane for Dead Princess. Ravel - Miroirs III. Une Barque sur L’Ocean (André Laplante). A. Krishna - When You Wish Upon A Star (Hirohashi Makiko) - Ethereal Mix.
THE DIANA AWARD ANTI-BULLYING YOUTH BOARD MENTAL HEALTH ARTWORK
Isabel Broderick
My poster was based around the idea of 'bottling up your emotions' and not talking to someone about how you feel. I believe that if you start encouraging the idea that talking to someone about how you feel is good at a young age, then it helps beat the stigma when those children become teenagers and adults.
Kimberley Hanson
I used the idea of gaming to help to try to eliminate the stigma that the reason people in my generation struggle with mental health issues is down to technology and the idea of gaming relates to primary school students/ the younger generation overall. I used the idea of retro gaming because it builds the bridge between students and their parents. The aliens emphasize how mental health can invade the mind and the bullets show the ways to fight against them and the barriers represent the support of everyone around the person (the spaceship). Finally, the controller shows how someone can help improve their own mental health by breaking down the different areas that person can control.
Paige Keen
In all primary schools, they promote physical well-being more than they do mental well-being. For example, they state how important eating their 5-a-day is and how the well-being plate is essential. I thought that it would be a good idea to make a well-being plate but for mental health. The wheel in the brain states essential things that primary school children need to do in order to maintain a positive mindset. All segments are equal as everything stated is just as important as each other. The hands and emojis are relatable things that primary school children encounter on a daily basis so I thought that it would make it fun and engaging to look at.
Adam Tay
The person in the poster is supposed to be a generic schoolchild. The emotions on the left and right hand sides of the poster are coloured according to zones of regulation and the words around the head are of different emotions which would be felt by a child of primary school age. The human chain represents friendship, whereas the question mark, exclamation mark and interrobang on the left represent emotions that a primary school child may not necessarily be able to express. The tree in the centre of the poster is a representation of resilience and the importance of staying strong as part of mental health as it is a New Zealand Christmas tree, which symbolises strength.