Beyond Words: Discovering the Bipolar Impaired Self through Visual Imagery
My video contains a sampling of my artwork I have done over a period of 5 years. To date, I have created approximately 300 images. The title of this video is also the title of my doctoral dissertation in the field of disability studies, with my focus being psychiatric impairments. In my case, I have bipolar disorder. The purpose of my images and dissertation was to present a way to help break the stigma of mental illness by creating an opportunity for people to develop empathy towards those with mental illness. My images represent the inner feelings of someone with a mental illness beyond their usual challenges associated with the illness. These are deeper, more personal feelings that people experience due to prejudice, hiding an invisible disability, social isolation, prone to derision and rejection, etc.
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