Men’s Mental Health and the Arts by Casey Winham
Men’s mental health has quickly become a topic that many people view with increased concern, with 75% of people committing suicide each week being men; it is the biggest killer of men under the age of 50. Whilst it is clear that this is a problem that needs tackling from a medical standpoint, there are often things that can be used to help express feelings and emotions in other ways, such as through the arts.
Photo by Alicia Zinn
Guy Cry Club uses creativity as an outlet for the emotions we find it hard to articulate through simple words, and sometimes need an extra hand in explaining. However, I want to show and explore today fellow creatives, more specifically, photographers, who have explored men’s mental health in the hopes it will help others see that there is always someone out there who has been through what you have, and you are not alone.
Jennifer Pattinson - Birds of Many a Feather
Made in 2015, Pattinson put together this body of work as part of an exhibition exploring masculinity and men’s mental health. Whilst this work is not by a male, it explores Pattinson’s experience of growing up with her father who suffers from depression, detailing work made in occupational therapy sessions.
A collaboration between herself and her father, Pattinson explains in an interview with the British Journal of Photography how this has been “cathartic for me and has allowed my dad and I to talk about some difficult moments”.
The creation of the images was hands-on, with work being produced in the darkroom using handmade tracing paper negatives, colour printed by Pattinson herself. It is important to note how difficult it must have been to speak on someone else’s struggles but Pattinson reiterates that her father had full veto power over each work, allowing him to direct the narrative of his pain.
The Calm Photography Movement
In 2017, Getty Images and the Calm Photography project asked for people to submit entries to be in an exhibition, one surrounding the need to ‘repicture[ing] how issues are seen’, wanting to show work that began a conversation about men’s mental health. This exhibition was then shown during men’s mental health week, with proceeds going to the CALM charity (Campaign against Living Miserably).
A panel of judges selected the winning images, wanting work that “depict[ed] diversity accurately” and didn’t “play into narrow and outdated stereotypes”.
The work was also made into a brochure for the exhibition, with the proceeds also going to CALM.
Daniel Smith - Fade Out
Daniel Smith, a photographer from Edinburgh, Scotland, created Fade Out, a personal photographic project exploring his own issues and emotions surrounding his depression. Drawing information from music and TV, Smith aimed to create work to raise money for CALM.
Smith explained in an interview with ‘Fragment’, how the process of taking the images felt quite detached, but the process of researching and editing, looking more into the facts and statistics surrounding male suicide, allowed Smith to see that he wasn’t alone, and that he had the ability to change something through these images.
Overall, even within my own personal photographic work and experience, I’ve found that expressing emotions through creativity allows you to confront and come to terms with how you feel, why you feel that way, and what can be done to help.
Many times it can be hard to start something when in a low place, but just looking at art can sometimes allow us to view it in a way that means something to us, and we may view it in a way that helps us to understand our own thoughts and feelings.
Some easy creative projects to start with can be simple doodle drawings, drawing loops and lines, colouring them in with bright colours, no limits! It can also be helpful to colour an adult colouring book, which can be bought easily from anywhere near you or even amazon!
Finally, it is important, even with help through creativity, to speak to someone about these emotions and feelings, and it's always imperative to let anyone know if you feel that you need immediate, more direct, help.
This article was written in association with Mindless Mag. By partnering with the social change platform Guy Cry Club CIC could connect with their network of global storytellers who then produced a series of articles exploring masculinity, mental health and creativity. Find out more about Mindless Mag and the brilliant work they do below.
