Summer 2018 - Spring 2019
EMBEDDED IN THE MIND
Within the constraints of my own mind, I find myself being pulled back time and time again to the subject of mental health. From interviews I had with four people as well as a certified doctor, I have composed a dialogue between them and that also include my own ideas around mental-health. The poems I have written about my interviews with them, speak to their struggles and triumphs including their diagnosis for themselves. This topic is very personal and I have struggled with it for a very long time now, however, it is also a topic that has been hidden away for too long. While there are some diagnoses such as anxiety and depression that are forced into the spotlight because it is common to do so nowadays, there are many other diagnoses that have been shoved further into the closet. I want to be clear that I say diagnoses rather than illness, problems, or disability because I find that these words (although my work may seem very dark) are too harsh for something that shouldn't rule your life. The photos shown of each person echo each of the poems as well as to each person’s descriptions of their own diagnosis. As Ren Hang put it in his journal entry on April 9th, 2012, “(...) Sometimes you want to share, but no one wants your share.” At moments, this seems very true. However, this work is a representation of me listening to what they had to share. What I have learned is that there is always someone willing to listen.