Draw For Mental Health
'Journey To Self'
July 8 - July 31
In partnership with Phenomenally Pink and WeWork Hong Kong
Presenting vibrant contemporary art and design from Hong Kong artists, the 'Journey to Self' exhibition considers the impactful role of creative expression for mental wellbeing and invites the public into an open dialogue. Showcasing artists and designers with a shared belief that art can and should be used as a tool for healthy expression, the show offers fresh perspectives on mental health, mental illness and recovery.
Participating Artists
Melody Chiang
Li Yuen Street West (2020)
Acrylic, Oil Pastel & watercolour on board Canvas
60 x 50 cm
Art For Sale
Walking on Li Yuen Street West, Chiang's hearing aids were out of battery. Where normally she would hear nothing, the powerful and vibrant noises of the street allowed her to hear the lively and colourful environment of the street. This was inspired by Betty Franks’ floral inspired abstract paintings which captivated her unique navigation of the world around her. In combination with her half-deaf hearing and visual observation, she created this artwork using a myriad of shapes and colours in the style of Franks’ paintings to represent and depict her rare perception of the loud chaotic street environment without her hearing aids.
Sharon Bruck
Anxiety (2020)
Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
45 x 60 cm
Art Not For Sale
Anger, anxiety and depression are the emotional catalysts to addiction. Bruck seeks to visualize these notions through a series of dramatic, surrealistic imagery that combines abstract expressions and gestures with referential images. 'Anxiety' (2020) confronts the viewer with a distorted face stripped of any gender associations contrasted against a flat black background. The red welts from peeling hands demand attention with realistic highlights, exemplifying a desire to escape from the body during an anxiety attack. Depression has blue tones to create a sense of desolation. Bruck's depiction of the subjects are shown as gender fluid to not limit these emotions to anyone. Ultimately, this highlights the prominence of emotions surrounding mental illness and emotional struggles, provoking greater dialogue surrounding the normalisation of mental health and addiction.
Sharon Bruck
Overindulgence (2021)
Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
120 x 100 cm
Art Not For Sale
‘Bruck seeks to visualize sex addiction and the objectification of the female body with 'Overindulgence (2021). The prominent use of red fused with black shadows represents the dangerous side of lust. Combining delicate shapes of the figure with gestural, expressive strokes of the hands allows Bruck to address the tension during an intimate moment and exemplify the addict's need to consume their substance - sex. Possessive and greedy hands are reaching and grasping at primal urges. The lack of identity in the hands and body represents the universality of sexual desire. Bruck seeks to deconstruct stigma in an Asian context surrounding identity, addiction, lust, desire and sex.
HelloColour
Surrender (2021)
Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
75 x 100 cm
Art For Sale
Created by Sravya Attaluri and Sharon Bruck in collaboration, the artwork draws attention to the psychological experience when one decides to surrender to their inner saboteur and give up fighting. Introducing depth and dimension and movement through abstraction, the work visualizes the sensory, physical and mental experience during an individual's emotional breakdown. With a limited palette and dramatic imagery, the artists seek to represent the emotional shattering of pain, distress, sadness and struggle. Even though Bruck and Attaluri may have had different psychological struggles, but they both rely on the visual of a spiral into the darkness to express the repercussions after surrendering to their negative thoughts.
HelloColour
Rebirth (2021)
Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
75 x 100 cm
Art For Sale
Drawn collaboratively by Bruck and Attaluri, the painting 'Rebirth' (2021), seeks to convey emotional recovery after hitting breaking point. Bright colours such as yellow and white symbolise growth, recovery and strength through adversity. White lines illustrating a long tunnel highlight the long and difficult journey it may take towards recovery, yet symbolises hope and how it is possible to recover from the lowest of lows.
Sravya Attaluri
Break From Reality (2018)
Oil on Stretched Canvas
90 x 150 cm
Art For Sale
'When recovering from a traumatic psychosis episode, Attaluri turned to painting as a form of healing and expression. She chose to confront the one specific moment where she lost herself and her grasp on reality. Completing 'Break from Reality (2018) was Attaluri's moment of catharsis, where she finally let go of her haunting memory through a literal representation of her experience. The limited palette with ultramarine and black is a reoccurring theme that Attaluri uses to depict mental illness narratives. Whether it makes a viewer uncomfortable or scared, instead of shying away from the topic, 'Break From Reality demands a reaction through its raw depiction and physical scale in hopes of raising awareness and promoting a dialogue around mental illness, mental health and recovery from trauma.
Cherie Chun
Healing (2021)
Acrylic on pinewood canvas
60.9cm x 76.2cm
Art For Sale
The roads taken in therapy can sometimes feel long and arduous. Emotions may feel pointless, suffocating, or even seem like a colossal overreaction to the original catalyst. Throughout Chun's time back in Hong Kong this year, she has witnessed both the lowest of lows and highest of highs in her life. She firmly believes that sometimes the person who you were yesterday may not feel any different to who you are today, but if you reflect on where you were and your aspirations a year ago, the difference is often unexpected and incredibly uplifting. Here, the pastel hues are a reflection of her best days; when the green-eyed monster of anxiety rears its head, the best way of dealing with the shadowy voices is to talk it out.
Natalie A. Chao
Searching for her 尋找她 (2017)
Genres: Experimental, poetic, cinema
Runtime: 4 minutes 24 seconds
Country of Filming: Hong Kong
Language: Chinese
Shooting Format: VHS, Digital SLR
Natalie A. Chao is a filmmaker and cinematographer who completed her bachelor's degree in film production at University of Southern California. Born, raised, and currently based in Hong Kong, she is interested in bridging the gap between realism and poetry in order to tell stories through a more engaged and intentional gaze—one that can map out our memories, not drawing lines between camera and subject, identity and politics. She is currently a 2020 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellow.
Sandra Wong
Flash tattoo sheet designed for 'Journey To Self'
Scan QR code to book a session with the artist
Sandra's tattoo style is focussed on black and grey illustrations and her drawings are inspired by elements on normalising mental health in Hong Kong. As a tattoo artist, she firmly believes that tattoos are critical towards mental health as it helps people express their thoughts and promotes a strong sense of identity.
Kash Komatsu Manni
Flash tattoo sheet designed for 'Journey To Self'
Scan QR code to book a session with the artist
Kash's artistic style is characterised by a chaotic mix of all things fantastically strange - spanning from all areas of their life - such as all the cartoons & animes her 8-year-old self would indulge in - to all the weird & trippy films their 16-year-old self would zone out to. Kash has always enjoyed toying with the obscure & darker things in life as they've always felt like an outsider - whether due to their cultural identity, gender identity, sexual orientation or personal mental health. They put their work out there in hopes to allow others to feel seen, heard, understood & most importantly - represented!
HelloColour
Interactive installation with prompt (2021)
Interactive installation with eight
10 x 10 cm prompt stickers on 120 x 200 cm board
With colourful stickers and open-ended prompts, the interactive installation enables dialougue and engagement around expression of emotions.
Designed to facilitate self-reflection and participation, the open-ended prompts invite users to visually or verbally contexualize personal experiences.
As the collection of experiences increase, the installation will reveal patterns of behavior, collective expressions and shared perceptions of the local Hong Kong community.
The submissions will then be digitized into an interactive digital campaign inviting artists to re-interpret submissions they identify with to further the dialougue around healthy expression and promote self-reflection.
HelloColour
Feel in colour (2021)
Interactive installation with eight
10 x 10 cm prompt stickers on 120 x 200 cm board
In a reaction to the monotone, concrete environment and greyscale uniformity of Hong Kong and it's people, 'Feel in Colour' challenges the community to evaluate their perceptions of colours and colour associations with emotions.
Based on foundations of colour psychology and research on the emotional impact of embedding certain colours into daily routines, the installation seeks to introduce colour into everyday life.
Official Show Partners
Draw for Mental Health is a community Platform run by Hello Colour, a multidisciplinary creative studio focused on creating social impact through design and strategy and emotional storytelling.
"Journey to Self" expands beyond the physical exhibition through digital and physical activations in Hong Kong and beyond in hopes of expanding the dialogue to a global audience. Beyond artworks, the Draw For Mental Health initiative has a growing list of partners that provide affordable and accessible mental health resources around the world for creatives and non creatives.
Learn more
Mental Health Resources
Christian Family Service Centre
The Store of Happiness is the Mobile Van For Publicity Service On Mental Wellness. They provide mental health education services to community members in the Kowloon East districts with the aim to promote mental wellness and increase public acceptance towards mental health.
OCD & Anxiety Support HK
OCD & Anxiety Support HK is a registered charity dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with mental health problems.
They provide support group meetings,
raise community awareness and provide accesible couneslling.
Sesh Therapy
Sesh offers inclusive online group support sessions led by licensed therapists. Each 60-minute session has a maximum if 14 participants and covers topics such as anxiety, stress, body image, depression and many more.
Use the code 'HelloColour' for unlimited sessions FREE for 30 days!
Peak Of Mind
Peak of Mind is a sports and performance psychology consultancy with the aims of helping people reach their potential and live happier, more fulfilling lives. They provide 1:1 performance consultations and small group workshops at affordable rates to support people in the
pursuit of their goals.
The Samaritans
The Samaritans are here to listen, no matter how disturbing or ordinary the problem may seem. We do not give advice, or tell you what to do. We are here to offer unconditional emotional support.
Suicide Prevention Services
Suicide Crisis Intervention Centre (SCIC) provides round-the-clock immediate crisis intervention and intensive counselling service to persons in crisis situations with moderate/high suicidal risk. Apart from the core crisis intervention service, SCIC also cooperates with the agency's Life Education Centre and Hotline Centre.
Suicide and Crisis Hotline Resources in Hong Kong (English, Cantonese and Mandarin Speaking)
Suicide Prevention Services (24 Hour Service): 2382 0000
The Samaritans (24 Hour Service): 2896 0000
Free resources to download
Take this exclusive wellness self-love bundle with you to start your journey of self care for free, using it to boost mental health, promote positive thinking, and become more mindful.
My activity library for anxious moments
What if you could be more prepared for anxious moments in your life? Our hope is to inspire those who use this resource to feel less alone in their fight against mental health issues and to enjoy life more despite its ups and downs.
My weekly gratitude journal
A gratitude journal is a thoughtful way to track and celebrate the many blessings in our daily lives. By listing three things we are grateful for each day, we are more likely to recognize true happiness when it occurs, and less likely to take for granted the many goods fortune has bestowed upon us.
My weekly visual log
A visual log, or mind map is a creative way of recording your week. It captures the highs and lows, the good times and bad – everything you experience in a day, period. Our visual log helps you identify patterns in your moods and how they affect your life.
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