::ART AS THERAPY ::
understanding and healing through creation
eng:
“The mentally disturbed, the handicapped and the homeless are the people I have always relied upon to enable me to “see” clearly and without illusion into our complex world.As they are one of the most defenseless amongst us, they have also been the scapegoats of our societies, always taking the “beating” of unsatisfied, fearful peoples and nations. Their disconnection from our reality makes them raw in their manner of being. Their awareness of what is proper, good, moral, etc; is either exaggerated or completely ignored, shocking us into questioning what we have always believed to be right, proper, good, etc; Their actions, reactions and words can also be bitingly honest and a mirror of our pain, suffering, and fears.
From having lived personal experiences with them, through my family, friends, in school and then working with and photographing them in Eastern and Western Europe, I find myself drawn more and more to their ways of seeing and reacting to life. Because of their many incapacities, they are just simply the way they are. Ironically, their incapacities bring to light their limited capacities and in some cases, these capacities have gone beyond anyone’s expectations.
These projects I propose come in the form of photography workshops and/or collaboration with other artists, students, educators, social workers and institutions. The idea is to combine creative and innovative ideas in order to present a project that will ultimately serve as a voice for some of these openly scarred people. These projects show not only what they see and feel, but also their poetic and violent visions, shockingly similar and familiar to our visions, our fears and hopes, our nightmares and dreams.
Awareness of the condition of others especially those rejected or forgotten by society is the ultimate key to understanding how and why we have arrived at this point in our existence. From this understanding comes the possibility and hope to make a better existence for us and others as well.”
- Diana Lui