Psychology and Art

Flesh and Blood II

As Artist and Psychologist I find that art, as a medium, is a very powerful way to calm one's senses, give focus, and assist with deeper needs while we live life and experience the human condition (with it's fear, loss, birth, death, life, anxiety, stress, risk taking, growing old, etc) This is even more real during a time like this... where we face daily challenges, uncertainties, tough choices, global crisis, difficult situations, moral injury, unspeakable past trauma... Art (in various forms) crosses barriers created by culture, language, age, gender, skill, abilities. Art is the gentle guide, assisting to overcome, discover, reveal, unleash, explore, give insight, bring joy, give hope... What more do we need, especially in this time, than hope?

Flesh and Blood I

Exploring human emotion: when the scars of previous trauma surfaces and receives permission from the bearer to reveal itself for the first time after many years... this opening-up takes immense courage... the process is often raw and painful… but the rewards are real... Often, after guiding a person through such a traumatic episode, I paint out my own feelings/observations... almost like having my own therapist. When we face our hurt we free the grip it has on us... to quote one of my favorite psychologists, Dr Edith Eger :”only when you allow yourself the feel, you can heal...”

UNLOCK during lockdown

“ Art allows us to examine what it means to be human, to voice and express, and to bring people and ideas together.

As we rise to the challenge of our new normal of life in a global pandemic, we are seeing more clearly what needs to change in our pre-COVID-19 society.

Art-making and viewing art allows us to process our experiences. Art helps us to express and to understand the world around us. “- ARTWORK ARCHIVE

Project UNLOCK was born during the hard lockdown in South Africa. As an artist and Psychologist I aimed to create a visual dairy where I tried to capture some of the emotion/ uncertainty/ confusion/ new reality as I experienced it, but also as I observed it around me. This initiative also opened up a new medium to me (digital art) and made it possible to make these works available to people from across the globe. Apart from learning a new skill, I could explore my own ‘new’ reality and create a platform where everyone could contribute and make a difference in the lives of others. (for more info, visit UNLOCK on main page)

“when we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves.' Victor E Frankl