INTERSECTING ART AND MENTAL HEALTH

While attempting to express what he was feeling in the state of constant restlessness, Edvard Munch created "The Scream", which went on to become one of the important works in the history of Expressionism. He wrote in his journal:

" One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on the side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out, over the fjord. The sun was setting and the clouds running blood red. I sensed a scream running through nature. I felt I heard the scream -- clear. I painted this picture and clouds as actual blood. The colours shrieked and became the scream! "

Art, in one of its several definitions, is simply interpreted as a sheer expression of one's emotion. Emotions which surface the huge portion of the subconscious. Not only is art ubiquitous in our lives but also within society as a whole. By viewing art as a complex expressive medium of thoughts, one can relate it to the mental workings of indifferent minds. This notion, in turn, gives a base to the concept that depicts art as so powerful that it mirrors life, perceptions of existence and the bewilderment it carries. Thus it remains a medium of expression even when we lack expression. Art as a whole carries within itself a plethora of mediums. Literature, painting, dance, music, theatre, sculpting and various other subsets subjecting true meaning to the state of meaninglessness.

Broadly, there can be two aspects if we equate art to mental states. One which notifies how art is more or less a reflection of one's mind and another which quantifies the facet of how this reflection can help in building better mental health. The need for expression in the starkest of situations is paramount. It is this need that in its absence we grow distant from self and the world alike. It is this need that in its presence we feel whole. Wherefore, it is this expression that keeps self together. Unification is the supreme feature art holds. Through the element of expression and representation, art enables us to heal, transform, relate, live and relive. Substantially this is what also lies in the medical paradigm of mental health treatment and therapy --- expression, organisation and connection.

An emotional experience which has led to trauma or a sense of hardship is referred to as a case study in psychological terms yet unarguably it is the whole purpose of artistic expression.

Art can function therapeutically as explored in the practice of art therapy. In its initial stages, it was only limited to drawing and painting but is now open to deeper realms of art inclusive of symbolic writings, dance, music, visuals, performance with the fundamental purpose of examining the human condition and bridging the issue with communicative remedy. In metaphorical terms, putting our pieces together to honour the stories of our lives.

Accordingly, art therapy can require professional assistance but if not accessible can be practised at an individual level to express the true self, embracing it while keeping a genuine check-in with ourselves. Practices like that of art journaling have become therapeutic to some. However, this expressive form is unique to each individual.

Since art is subjective and only the creator can exhibit the true sense of its imagery, this authentic creativity becomes courageous in itself. One must seek to know that beauty is not the ultimate goal that art exhibits and thus art therapy but to appeal to and connect with human emotions & beliefs.

Stream of consciousness, a narrative method that depicts the multitudinous thoughts and feelings as seen in the literary works of Sylvia Plath or Virginia Woolf, is also embedded in the categories of contemporary art therapy. While writing Mrs Dalloway, Woolf asserts how she could not put forth her inner rumblings directly but narrating it through the artistic method kept her at peace. Whence, this went on to become her unique style of composition.

It is worthy to note for a fact that art is no escapism but representation. Figure out what form of art helps you in representing your true self and devour it selflessly. At the intersection of art and mental health lies the hope --- of rising, emerging truth and thy self. Wherefore, it is 'art' that shall let us through.

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