Monuments of Hope is a mental health inspired art exhibition that shows the pain, struggle, beauty and hope in recovery. My pieces of visual art are based on my own experiences of mental distress as a young adult and are created from materials that I saved throughout my years of recovery in Wellington Hospital and the community. I believe that every person with experiences of mental distress has the capacity for recovery; I want this exhibition to encourage struggling peers, bring this insight to those that discriminate and offer hope to every person. My dream is that from my exhibition people with experiences of mental distress and their communities will be able to see this hope in their own lives and those around them.
This exhibition is dedicated to my great grandmother Alice Minnie who spent 50 years in an asylum in the 1920s.
*content warning: please be advised that this exhibition may contain distressing or sensitive material