Feel It, To Heal It: How A Young Illustrator Sees and Embraces Mental Health Issues
Jakarta. As someone born in a transitional generation Faza, 25, live in a unique liminal phase.
As a Millennial, she is not used to being open about her mental health issues. But her Gen Z circle led her to be more aware generally and accepting of mental health issues, thus being more open about psychological issues and how to manage stress. Therefore, the 1996 born woman chooses painting and drawing as media to heal her mental health problems.
"I've been drawing since I was five years old," said Faza in Depok, West Java, on June 5, 2021. The last of three children admitted that the tsunami that hit Aceh in 2004 became a meeting point between her and the world of art.
"Since I watched the disaster on TV, I felt sad and need to express it through drawing. Even though my drawing it's not good, but the sadness has been reflected."
Faza gets her visual references from manga, local illustrators, and songs. She chose pastel colors as the dominant color in her work. "Pastel colors are not bold, they soft like my self and yes, that's me! She added. Pastel colors are a statement of her personality.
Faza started to draw a lot when she was in college because she was depressed due to her new environment and wasn't good at socializing. The desire to pour out his sadness became her motivation to draw.
"When I'm depressed, I want to draw honestly. When I'm sad, I'll draw sadness. If I'm happy, I'll draw happiness. I want to instill in myself that mental health problems are common. I'm not a 'self-healing' weirdo. Although it doesn't always 'heal,' I have tried. To feel it is to heal it." she added.
Faza has no problem if others have not accepted the message in his work. She just assumed it happened due to a missing connection.
"I want to share my work as artwork that has a message, not to show off my feelings. If you're honest, it can be seen by other people, not pretentious. Now is the time to see depression as a place to learn. Just feel it. It will heal later", said Faza while sipping his favorite mango lassie.
This photo story is a collaborative work between the Jakarta Globe's photojournalist Yudha Baskoro and Faza. Yudha and Faza came to a coffee shop Depok, West Java, where he embraced Faza's visual perspectives to take photographs of things around her. Then the young illustrator creates unique combinations of photograph and illustration to express how Faza sees her world. (Photo 1, 8, 9, & 10)
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