mckenna mitchell

This body of work presents a social and personal take on mental health and how it can affect an individual. Many different events in life can be factors that lead to a decline in one’s mental health, leading to grieving, depression and sometimes even suicide. These oil paintings are meant to start a conversation about a harsh reality we don’t like to speak about as much as we should. Each individual painting represents a factor in what can put a toll on someone. They also tell my own story in the order in which they occurred. Some of the main events that were researched when working on this project were what I considered to be the most life changing events I’ve experienced. Many people around me have also had similar experiences. 

The first painting with the red background represents the separation from my parents when I was young. Following is the yellow panel which represents losing a first love and wanting to reach out to them but feeling like everything is over. The green panel represents losing a loved one and having the urge to just scream out of sorrow, anger, and stress. The blue, and last panel represents depression itself and shows how taxing that can be. 

I decided on showing only certain parts of the body and using close ups to emphasize how our bodies react to such a strong emotion. This exhibition is very personal in that I am telling my own story. It also encourages dialogue on something that many people have experienced and have had trouble talking about openly. It is very important to take care of one’s self as well as your loved ones when any event happens that takes a toll on your or their health. We need to help each other so that something good can come from grieving, as I have done in creating these works of art.