We had another great TPM workshop last week exploring mental health & well-being. This time the session was hosted with experienced photographers and artists Antonia Attwood/ & Daniel Regan.
The Message
Daniel and Antonia first discussed their own personal experiences with mental health and how photography became an essential tool for them when experiencing difficult times.
Daniel writes: I’m a photographer captivated by the human condition and complex emotions. My work focuses on themes of well-being and the processing of life’s experiences. The thread of intimacy and the desire to connect with both others and myself weaves its way throughout my practice.
Antonia’s collection of work has developed a focus on illustrating and visually interpreting how mental illness ‘feels’. She hosts fantastic workshops exploring how it feels to be overwhelmed or vulnerable in the world when living with a medical condition or mental illness.
She writes: It is not about communicating a straightforward message, but rather sharing interpretations of experience of altered mind-states.
Key Words
The students were given words associated with emotions to explore using photography. The words were: pride, stress, trust, optimism, anxiety, friendship, worry and loneliness.
Each student embraced the workshop fully and engaged with their own emotions to create some insightful imagery.
The results were fantastic in the short time we had with them. We look forward to seeing the results to our brief “Inside Out” as the students have until the 17th April when we will return to the school to critique their work.
A big thank you Daniel and Antonia for opening up to this project and to all the students for their passion and enthusiasm plus a big thank you to Marina for her continued support!
