Eight artworks inspired by mental health problems

The Perspective Project hosts art, poetry and writing with the aim of ending stigma and providing an outlet for those with mental health problems. The 24-year-old founder, Mark Anscombe, is already sharing the work of over 30 artists from around the UK, US and Canada, all of whom have various mental health issues. The project accepts submissions in any form, and people can submit anonymously

Main image: Photograph: the Perspective Project

Wed 17 Jan 2018 05.03 EST Last modified on Wed 19 Oct 2022 10.19 EDT

  • At the Bottom of the Anxiety Swamp by Jayoon Choi

    ‘There is a moment when you can’t help but sink deep down. Attacked by spiteful thoughts. But, oh dear! I was the monster.’

  • Silent Shout by Eva Charkiewicz

    ‘My adventure with photography began after my father died. I did not talk to people and I stopped meeting with people. My depression almost killed me. All the negative emotions that were in me and still are (depression likes to come back), I show in my photos.’

  • Your Pain Is My Pain by Paula Scotter

    ‘This represents dysfunction patterns in relationships. It is the expectation that if you put someone else’s needs before your own, somehow this will make you happy. You allow yourself to be badly treated and have few boundaries, then wonder why you feel so hurt and alone. It’s letting your feelings build up and up, until one day you realise and run away – away from the relationship and the ill treatment. The pattern repeats until you say no more and move forward into self-awareness, self-love and healing. Therapy was my route for this. Victim no more.’

  • Tiger, Shark and Me Sit Down for Tea by Emma Haddow

    ‘I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression since I was a teenager. There have been times when it has crippled me, and I was afraid of everything. I started to face my fears, my demons head on and I still do. It’s scary in the dark but what’s more scary to me is denying and suppressing what lurks beneath the surface. My mental health is good these days. My dark days are still here, but I no longer turn them away.’

  • Depersonalisation by Morgan Page

    ‘I drew this after I realised that I was experiencing episodes of depersonalisation. I had been experiencing them for a while, but never knew what it was. Once I found out it had a name, it all made sense. It feels like you’re detached from yourself. The head could eventually be reattached, and I could finally feel like myself again.’

  • Mind Vomit

    ‘This represents the daily conversation within my mind. Anxious thoughts, depressive thoughts, sub-thoughts, thoughts about the thoughts, a constant critical commentary and a tornado of darkness, numbness and complete inner turmoil.’

  • Ghost Whisperer by Eva Charkiewicz

    ‘I want to show you my world (my four walls) – my photographs. I became interested in photography after being diagnosed with clinical depression. Photography helped me and still helps me with my emotions.’

  • Who Cares by Janet Ford

    ‘From the #100DaysofBipolar project. This image depicts how it feels to be both depressed and manic. In both states you have a “who cares” mindset, yet both are completely different. When you are depressed you are unable to care about anything. Life has lost any sort of meaning. When you are manic you don’t care about anything either. But it’s more of being unable to think past the current moment. You don’t think or care about the future or it’s consequences.’
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