Exhibit chronicles artists’ struggles with poor health
Artist Dave Mutnjakovic started drawing as a cathartic way to deal with the challenges of living with Crohn’s disease.
“I nearly died when I was 14 because I was misdiagnosed,” Mutnjakovic said. “Suddenly I started drawing and it poured out of me for six years.”
Now 34, he works as an art educator and therapist in Montreal.
A Windsor native, he came home to do an exhibit Sunday night with his friend and fellow artist Jay Santarossa at the Carrots N’ Dates cafe on Wyandotte Street.
Santarossa, Mutnjakovic and Cafe owner Neviana Nedeltchev met at St. Clair College, where they studied graphic art. In addition to an artistic flare, they also shared a struggle with intestinal issues.
Nedeltchev also has Crohn’s disease while Santarossa has Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
So they lightheartedly called their art exhibit “Gutted.”
“It’s like all of our art has been gutted onto paper,” said Santarossa, who specializes in screen printing, a labour-intensive process of layering colour over stencils.
Mutnjakovic brought home several pieces of black and white penand-ink artwork, much of which describes his journey to health.
“I think Crohn’s disease is the worst disease in the world,” Mutnjakovic said.
“But it’s a gift and it doesn’t have to hold you back. I’m fighting this thing that’s given me a lifestyle, a job and a career by working through it. With this show we’re talking about it and empowering others.”