Answer in Images: Art and Mental Health Interview with PerfectLight
A variety of striking images that get at the heart of how creativity and wellness may intersect
If you believe in the power of creating an online library of resources related to the complex relationship between art and mental health including essays and interviews written from lived experience as well as historic and contemporary research, please subscribe. Only through your support can this work continue. Learn more here.
When I first launched visual interviews (where people respond to questions about the relationship between art and mental health with images instead of words), I immediately thought of several amazing artists here on Substack that I would love to include if they were interested. Of course, you never know if people will be interested … just because they make amazing art doesn’t mean they want to use it to share ideas about mental health, just because you ask doesn’t mean people want to collaborate, there are factors of timing and so many things.
So, I put the offer out there but didn’t attach too much to the outcome - so I was really surprised and thrilled when
chose to answer the visual interview questions because their photography account always mesmerizes me. I especially love this piece on multiple exposure photography, this photo essay on loss, and the series of industrial images. Let’s learn more though answers in images:What does the term mental health mean to you?
What does your own history of mental health look like?
What does creativity mean to you?
How have mental health symptoms impacted your creative process?
How have mental health symptoms impacted the content of your creativity?
In what ways have mental health symptoms impacted your creative medium?
How have mental health symptoms impacted your productivity as an artist?
How have mental health symptoms impacted your self-perception / identity as an artist?
What does the relationship between art and money look like for you?
What does the relationship between art and work look like for you?
How is art therapeutic/cathartic/healing for you?
In summary, for you, what is the relationship between art and mental health?
Make sure to visit for more visual narratives and compelling images.
Want to share your own responses to questions about the relationship between art and mental health? You can answer a visual interview here or answer in words here.
These are wonderful photos by Perfectlight. Thought provoking!
These images are gorgeous on their own, and the story they tell when paired with the interview questions is another level entirely. I was so moved by this, especially the response to the question about the relationship between art and money. What a cool interview!