UR in the Picture at Bankside Gallery

UR in the Picture at Bankside Gallery

14 July, 2009
by: Claire_loves_jam

'Although I feel ready for the scrapheap and there are bits missing, there are still pieces you can use,' affirms a small, neat notice beneath a photograph of an almost grass-consumed, mangled, rusty bicycle. For Mike Jenner this is life with mental illness.

I'm at the Bankside Gallery wandering around the new UR in the Picture exhibition, and it's fascinating. On display is a range of work by 28 photographers exploring use of the medium as a creative outlet through which to purvey their deepest, darkest sentiments on living with mental health problems. Striking stuff.

This exhibition hosted by disability charity United Response comes as the culmination of a year-long project carried out in partnership with PhotoVoice, a photographic charity. Back in 2005 the pair joined forces to work on 'Mental Wealth', a venture aimed at raising awareness of the issues faced by those with mental health needs. Today's exhibition was conceived to continue this work and examine what photography can do to foster self-esteem within sufferers.

It's a widespread misconception that accurate comprehension of mental illness relies upon individual experience of it. This seems to be the point of today's showcase. For me the images go a long way towards capturing the thoughts, fears and hopes of their creators, and beginning to explain the emotion behind the lens.

Of particular interest is Irene Jenkins' 'Simplicity'. The mottled pebbles and rocks depicted amidst puckered, moist sand seem anything but simple, but maybe that's what she's getting at. There's a sense that she knows something we don't.

'Always retreating into myself' by Sean Steward takes a more literal approach, using multiple shots of himself posing in the mirror with a camera and gradually disappearing off the edge of its grainy surface. Ricky Freeman's 'Dark Mood' juxtaposes a charcoal shadow with glowing, amber surroundings which I admire for its transparency. This one doesn't need mulling over; it beats you over the head with raw emotion.

The room is small, and there's an overwhelming sense of privacy being irrevocably invaded. I'm reminded of reading Clare Allan's columns in The Guardian on her ten-year descent into madness – and the line that is crossed when entering such a personal, fragile domain.
And that's the beauty of it. Each photograph touches on a different deeply private experience, and affords a wide spectrum of human emotion – fear, hope, loneliness, chaos and even numbness. Each artist's vulnerability is laid bare.

Whether this project has brought any benefits to its troubled participants, I couldn't say. But I've been offered an insight into a world which is so often neglected by the wider masses, and it's a privilege.

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Claire_loves_jam