S T A T E S OF EXISTENCE
About the Exhibit
States of Existence showcases transitory works from humans who express themselves through art to convey varied experiences of human life in the complex world we live in today. The 25 featured artists dive deep into human existence whilst raising an array of important questions.
Breaking the stigma surrounding *mental health* is challenging in the binary narrative of normal/abnormal, healthy/unhealthy and well/unwell. We examine why & how the stigmas were created in the first place.
The works on show explore physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual or racial adversity of the modern human life while looking into the establishment and perpetuation of these difficulties by the historical abusive assertion of power and control through psychiatry.
The creation and fetishization of a ‘perfect mind’ through the advent of capitalist societies has mental illness reduced to ‘individual’ chemical imbalances; today the possible economic, social and systematic causes of such difficulties are rarely discussed. We feel lonelier more than ever. This exhibition aims to bring us together in a stigma free, safe space to evoke thought and initiate important conversations we all desperately need.
Well Space Community curated by Sophie Akehurst & Tugba Tirpan
Meet the Curators
Tuğba Tirpan is an award winning artist working in a range of media including performance, video, photography and installation.
Tugba often employs conceptual ways of working to challenge our pre-set thought patterns and structural forces that shape our cultural practices. An advocate for women's rights and mental health awareness her work often explores these themes.
Sophie Akehurst works in Mental Health, in a medium secure unit in Homerton, where she supports service users to have more say in their care in order to try and improve the archaic mental health system.
Sophie studied art at St Martins many years ago, enjoys painting in various mediums and has exhibited alongside fellow curator Tugba.
