I DON'T MIND
An exhibition for Mental Health Awareness Week 16th-19th May 2013 curated by Howard Sivills.
3Space Blackfriars, London 2013
I don’t mind’ is an exhibition and performance art event that was an official part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2013 and included a private view on the 17th May with talks, Live-Art and discussion that brought together people with an interest in art and/or mental health. In association with Ferodo Bridges and 3space Hub at the old law courts of Blackfriars.
"The curse of consciousness: A journey into the inner workings of the mind: A collection of illustration, performance and video centered around the mind and mental health issues. To bring dialogue on the topic and de-stigmatize mental suffering."
EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Howard Sivills, Ulysses Black, Annie Brooks, Anna Vauhkonen, Tasos Stamou, Sarah Delmonte, Sol Bailey-Barker, Michel Good, Alexander Raptotasios, Kitty Dalton and more. ‘
CURATOR'S STATEMENT
‘I don’t mind’ is a gesture towards the many people who suffer with Mental Health Issues. To bring about dialogue and let people know not to be ashamed. Mental Health has can be stigmatized in mainstream culture, people are afraid of it. But can anyone honestly say they have not suffered before? The reason that a stimulus like this works for the exhibition is that everyone has a story, a different take on what it means. Mental Health Awareness Week is a time that people can stop and pay attention to the issues connected to the mind. Just ‘Being’ is quite difficult, very consciousness and the ability to think and analyze comes with a load of problems and crisis for the mind. Life experience is full of financial pressures, jobs, relationships and death; and sometimes people can’t hold it together. Through Art, Entertainment and Mass-Media; the populous attitude towards mental suffering can mature and that is what things like Mental Health Awareness Week achieve. Artists are very lucky in the respect that they can explore their own minds and it is legitimized as a meaningful area of research. Many artists would simply be considered “mad” by the world if it were not for their ‘get out clause’ of being an artist. So it is our responsibility as artists to use the freedom we have to try and express what we think about the topic and the neurotic little tics that make up our minds. Maybe people will relate, maybe not. Either way it has been done and we have made our gesture of caring. It’s not a charity drive (although no one is making profit and if there were left over funds it would be given to charities) it is not the aim to get people’s money, it is the aim to get people’s minds. It isn’t a campaign with an aim to meet, it is just a meditation from a group of people who have a response to it.