'Healing' by Nadja Andersson, Shirley Lachaise, and Robyn Boyle

This collaborative group show with Nadja Andersson, Shirley Lachaise, and Robyn Boyle presented important conversations surrounding grief, trauma, anger and adversity through textiles, painting and drawing. The artists found art and making to be their most intuitive outlet to explore these human experiences, and the exhibition will be the result of learning from each other and investigating their own unique artistic views on healing.

Robyn Boyle worked on a collection which explores her journey of the past 19 months healing from Long Covid. At the most debilitating points of her illness, she focussed on what she could tangibly do to recover: rest, eat nutritious food and think positively. Robyn became interested in the neuroscience behind how positive thinking can improve health outcomes.

The relationship between soothing rituals and artmaking was Nadja Andersson’s main angle on the theme of healing. Nadja based a series of mixed media 2D works on her experiences of managing chronic body pain from autoimmune diseases, as well as her process of emotional healing from ptsd symptoms through grounding techniques and storytelling.

Shirley Lachaise pieces were inspired by the healing journey she is currently going through from the loss of her dad and her sister. This ongoing healing process will be expressed through pieces each representing a stage of the grieving journey; denial/isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance.