Reverie and its afterglow

The Centre promotes mental health and wellbeing through fostering a greater understanding of the mind, mental illness and trauma through art and creativity. The Dax Centre incorporates the Cunningham Dax Collection of over 15,000 works created by people with an experience of mental illness and trauma.

In her introduction to the exhibition catalogue Ms Last explains that reverie enables “contemplation and creativity and (can) be restorative when making sense of uncertainty and loss. It can be understood as a precondition for an experience of hope.”

Certainly many of the works on show illustrate less an agitated, unwell mind than a sense of quiet calm, while others depict creative energy that engages the mind and heart. 

A reprieve from feeling bad created by creativity, as it were.

“This exhibition considers the therapeutic and healing effects of connecting with our inner world in a way that enriches our sense of self and relationship to others,” Ms Last says.

“When mental illness or trauma interrupts our lives, the future often becomes uncertain. Many artists represented in the Cunningham Dax Collection find comfort and meaning in creating, and sharing their artwork with others. Art can bridge one’s internal and external worlds, redressing the ‘inwards’ tendency that accompanies the troubled mind.”

A key concept of the exhibition is that of “flow”, the period when artists are completely immersed in ‘making’, and conscious thought is silenced as creativity and inspiration flow out of the artist into practical making.

“When we are engaged in the creative process action and awareness merge, the consciousness is not distracted, and fear of failure and self-consciousness disappears,” Ms Last says. “When we experience flow we might not feel emotion, as this could be a distraction. Rather after flow we might feel a sense of satisfaction or wellbeing.

“The artworks in this exhibition were selected for their suggestion of ‘flow’ during the creative process. Through our exploration of color or line, we sense the artist was immersed in the process of making, venturing into free form exploration.”