Charity, Creativity and Mental Health

Sunset with boxes by Chris Barchard


Something that I didn't expect from the Exhibition was the amount of interest people would have in the charity, 'the National Perceptions Forum', a mental health charity sponsoring the event.

A few years ago we produced a DVD about ourselves, our history, how we formed, who we are and what we are about. We still had quite a few in the office cupboard so I took some to display at the exhibition, they went like hot cakes on the opening night and everyday since then, so too has our magazine 'Perceptions'. So today the office administrator came down from London to replenish our stocks.

It rings true for so many people that mental health problems and emotional instability go together with creativity, real creativity that is. Not learning a few tricks to go on huge canvases to make a financial killing, no, our work, the work shown on the exhibition by the six is stuff that comes from our hearts. We put everything from ourselves into it and we are not ashamed to do this, we don't hold back mainly because we have a need to express our wrought emotions somehow.

Suffering with emotional problems can mean for many of us that we have consequential social and relationship problems. Statistically I read somewhere that people with a diagnosis of a serious mental health problem are less likely to be able to manage long term relationships and among the people I know it does see to be the case.

Van Gogh really is a case in point and our lovely showpiece 'Vincent in the Yellow Room' illustrates this beautifully. Vincent did his best work in a mental institution and he never sold one piece of his work in his lifetime preferring instead to hang on to them maybe? His life was plagued by inappropriate relationships and emotional instability but the work he produced was exquisite. I have been compared to Van Gogh's story by my close friends and family on a few occasions something that I find both alarming and complimentary.

The unexpected upshot of this exhibition is an understanding of what it means to have mental health problems, the exhibition shows what we *can* do and hopefully people can see the love that is in our hearts. Something that we may not be able to show to people in any other way other than with clay, canvas and other artistic mediums.




Vincent in the Yellow Room by Maureen Oliver