“what gets me through the day” Art by Ethar Hamid

Sandra Mendelsohn

Artist Maz Fietz

Eternal Singularity 2 – By Mark Lloyd

The Healing Body Image Project

Hannah Hilton

Writer and Poet Becky Saunders

Misstresslisa’s Artworks at ASLI’S event and pop up exhibition to raise awareness about mental illness in Portsmouth, UK

Claudia Keating

Maryjayne Stone braved to do this a second time, in her determination to make peace with the humanness of her body. “I feel like I have a better handle than I ever have.” She is beautiful, we all agree.

Lisa Reeve ASLI Artistic Projects & Campaign Director at the Mental Illness, health and recovery pop-up exhibition.

Artist Paulissa Kipp

Artist Louise Tomkinson at the ASLI Pop-Up Exhibition

Eternal Singularity 1 – By Mark Lloyd

Sketch By Jess Caudery

Artist Louise Tomkinson

Hannah Hilton

Poet Tim Evans

How Much More – By Emma Phillips

The Revealing Garden by Sandra Mendelsohn

I’m going to keep this short, as I still find it hard to deal with. It all still feels so surreal. But I want to help anyone going through any type of mental illness and break its taboo. On January 11 this year, my partner committed suicide. To everyone, he was nothing but caring, thoughtful and “happy”. He always tried to be happy, but life’s everyday challenges got a hold of him. Only his closest loved ones in his life had an idea of the pain he was trying to deal with, but still not enough to realize that it would bring him this close to the edge. “The Edge. There is no honest way to explain it because the only ones that really know where it is are the ones that have gone over.” The ONLY thing that got me out of bed was a surfboard (next to my bed) I was doing an art design on. I do art daily, it helps me think and not think at the same time. It’s my way of connecting with him and escaping from reality. I am so grateful to have the gift of art and I feel it’s my purpose to use my artworks to send out messages. I want people to realize that you don’t have to look depressed all the time, be a bad person or talk about wanting to put an end to their life to have a mental illness. We need to become more aware of this so we can help people escape their darkness and not let them feel lonely all the time! Because it only takes a split second, without anyone knowing, for their decision to be made. And yes, some may have regretted it, but it’s too late. It’s my goal one day to host a charitable art show to raise awareness and just spread my art into the world. If my art brings a smile to someone’s face or sends a message across and makes a change, then I’ve done my job.

‘Protector’ – By Jade Bryant It essentially shows how both the BPD (left side) and the ASPD (right side) work in coexistence with each other, but that isn’t a bad thing. The ASPD often protects the BPD side when things get too overwhelming, which has brought me back from suicide various times, if i didn’t have that side to me, I really don’t think i’d be here. The arm wrapping around the BPD side shows protection. Though the eyes are different, the BPD has green and blue colours to represent the innocence of feelings to an extent and the most predominant emotions I struggle with in a BPD crises, which are depression, lonliness and helplessness followed by me realizing how I have acted and becoming overly emotional, the pupil of that eye is multicoloured to represent the spectrum of emotion. Whereas the other ASPD eye is red, and orange with striking yellow to signify the most dominant emotions and feelings i get from that side of me, which are confidence, boldness, sometimes coldness and distance, but independence and adaptability. The mouths are different also, on the BPD side to represent shock, and dissociation, a frozen sort of expression, wanting help but not knowing how to ask for it. Whereas the ASPD side is more of a devilish smile because it represents how it can often be sneaky, cunning and manipulative, but also lustful and playful and strong.

Artist Paulissa Kipp

Emerging From Darkness by Chris Dean

‘Gaia Is Awake’, is based on a Shamanic Vision of the World around us being more alive than what we can currently perceive and understand. The living Universe.

“Unheard Scream” © Paulissa Kipp

Your Words Cut So Deep – By Artist Emma Phillips

Art by MistressLisa Taylor

Aborigine inspired Turtle Doodle – By Lynn Excell

The Carnival By Sravanthi Juluri

From our local pop up exhibition for mental health awareness ‘Manic battle with your Journey’ By Christopher Webb Oil on canvas

Photography By Ethar Hamid

Sravanthi Juluri

Storm – By Ildiko Nova

Des Skordilis