I decided to do an abstract painting for my project. Abstract is not my usual style but I felt it was the best way to portray the disability/disorder I chose to represent. I wanted to portray a very common disorder in our society today: Depression. Depression is not always seen as a disability but it often is associated with disabilities. Now this does not mean that everyone with a disability has depression or that everyone with depression has a disability. Many people think that you can only have depression if you have a “good reason” like a hard past or present or a disability and although you may be more likely if one or more of these are true but depression does not always have a reason. It is a mental disorder that anyone can have at any time.When someone has depression, they often feel alone, distant, sad/gloomy, and sometimes in severe cases like life isn’t worth living. I wanted to do depression mainly because so many people make jokes about having depression that I feel like people who really have it get overlooked. Also, I have found that many people think that because one person was able to overcome their depression then everyone else should be able to but that is not how it works. It is not the same for everyone.
In my painting I used three colors: white, grey, and black. I only used these colors because I wanted a gloomy feel. Along with these colors I also tried to create a fuzzy or misty look to it to add to the gloom. I made it abstract, so there would be many ways of interpreting it. I personally see it as misty dark woods which can represent feeling alone. The misty/rainy look adds on to the sad aspect of the painting. Like how there are many ways to see and understand the painting, there are also many ways to see and understand depression. No one view of depression is entirely the same.
There are many different types of depression. One of which is anxious depression which is basically what it sounds like. It is where along with the depression you have high anxiety. I wanted to mention this type one because I feel like I can relate to it and two because I feel that when I stare at my painting not only do I get this feeling like depression but it also makes me anxious and the longer I stare at it the more it makes me think about my anxiety. The purpose of this painting is not to actually make you depressed or anxious but to bring awareness to a little piece of what it is like.
I pledge
word count: 456
Source
“Depression (Major Depressive Disorder).” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 3 Feb. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20356007.
“Depression (Major Depressive Disorder).” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 3 Feb. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20356013.
