December 12, 2014
5 March 2015 – 17 May 2015
Group Therapy: Mental Distress in a Digital Age
at FACT / Foundation for Art and Creative Technology
Liverpool, UK
/// a commissioned series of sixteen photographs and text panels, CARRIED BURIED BENEATH CATALPA BEANS / MOUNTAIN SWEEP is a photographic series of American asylum buildings by artist Quintan Ana Wikswo, including sites where her family members were institutionalized. The work evokes the hyper-vigilant eye movements of post-traumatic stress disorder, offering viewers the opportunity to experience reality through the eyes of an individual marked as an outsider by the impacts of trauma or social injustice. By showcasing spaces formerly reserved for the mentally ill, she also provides insights into the historical context of mental illness and its surrounding power structures.
Originating from FACT’s extensive work within mental health and wellbeing, the exhibition explores the complex relationship between technology, society, and mental health.
Works by artists, designers and researchers including new commissions from The Vacuum Cleaner, Katriona Beales, Kate Owens & Neeta Madahar and Quintan Ana Wikswo as well as restaged work from Ubermorgen will encourage visitors to rethink their understanding of mental health and wellbeing, by asking how far our personal wellbeing is related to the values of the society we live in and the impact of new technologies.
Vanessa Bartlett, who is co-curating the exhibition with FACT’s Director Mike Stubbs, says ‘Group Therapy proposes that art and the creative use of digital devices can challenge dated ideas about mental illness, helping to reduce stigma and encourage open discussion about our personal wellbeing.’