Out of Sight, Out of Mind

This piece represents the concept of mental health. More specifically, acknowledging the hidden/silent battles that we face every single day. This can look different for different people eg. past trauma, stress, homesicknesses or grief. These battles may not always be physically seen by others but yet they exist, hidden from the outside world. We carry them within us.

The ocre colour middle circle and wavy lines represent our life journey and also symbolise walls. The colourful dots at the top and bottom of the artwork represent the different hidden/silent battles that we face daily. They are specifically contained to the top and bottom of this piece which symbolises the internalising of our battles. This can also have an alternate meaning of us emotionally “hitting a wall”, however this doesn’t always need to be seen as a negative because sometimes walls are there so we can lean on them and take a rest. The blank space to the left and right represent what people see on the outside, no problems, no stress, no trauma. They see the picturesque vision of happiness. The other coloured circles represent our loved ones, who support us. It is a reminder that even on our darkest days we have loved ones who are always there for us. Although we may think that we need to keep our battles/problems to ourselves we are reminded that with asking for help there is strength.

The main message I want to portray within this piece is this,

You can look healthy but still feel like shit. You can sound confident and still have anxiety. You can look happy and still feel miserable inside. You can be good looking and still feel ugly. So in a world with so many standards of how people are meant to act and feel. Be kind, because every person is fighting a battle we know nothing about. A friendly reminder that you do not need to be strong all the time and that you are surrounded by loved ones who are there to listen and support you.