This project was born out of a desire for individuals in Mental Health to learn about the medium of photography and how it can be used as a powerful tool of self expression.

The emphasis was on being free from constraints and limitations, and allow the emotive self out, without worrying about the technicalities behind photography. For this reason simple disposable cameras were used so that volunteers (photographers) did not have to worry about focusing, exposure times, lens type etc and quite simply just indulge themselves.

The project involved 13 participants from various areas of mental health and cultural background to stick to a 6 week schedule. At 1pm on a Thursday, for 6 weeks, participants were asked to photograph their environment, wherever they had found themselves at that time. They were free to capture whatever it was that motivated them, whether it be a self portrait, a garden, an event, or even the sky. Anything they felt applied to them right there and then. There were no restrictions to what or who they wished to capture.

In this way a visual diary was created over the six weeks and participants could compare what they were doing at that time. This was by no means an experiment or case study, far from it, but purely an opportunity for each photographer to express themselves freely, to explore the medium of photography as a tool for creative visual communication, and to give an insight albeit fleeting into how mental health affects their lives.

The exhibtion was supported by THINKARTS.