Using art to explore how they see themselves
The Ko Wai Au? exhibition at Pataka runs until October 12 and coincides with Mental Health Awareness week.
The exhibition comes from the forensic mental health services units at Kenepuru Community Hospital in Porirua.
Artists/ mental health consumers from within these units have created works that answer the question ‘‘Who am I?’’ in their own way.
They do so through visual artworks, poetry and songs, which help them in learning about themselves and in teaching others more about who they are in a wider context, not simply that of a mental health consumer.
The artists have incorporated materials that are significant in their everyday lives into their work, including hospital sheets, tea and coffee, tissue paper (left over from the old Porirua Hospital Industrial Therapy Unit), and driftwood (when people are given community leave to have their first walk, they are often taken to the beach and collect driftwood or shells).
The exhibition includes several group artworks, including Identity Tree and Walking in my Shoes. The impressive 3-metre tall Identity Tree was created by artists in the all- male Purehurehu unit, while men and women from the Rangipapa unit created Walking in my Shoes, which is the first thing visitors see when they go into the exhibition.