During 2021, Lindsey Williams (she/her) created her debut painting collection titled Reflections of Memories. The artist believed it was fitting for the subject of her first collection to address American psychology and social welfare because she is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a professional talk therapist. The aesthetic of her collection was inspired by the Inkblot Test, which is a psychological exam that was created in 1921 by a psychoanalyst named Henry Rorschach (1884-1992). The test helped psychologists study image interpretation and personality development. Coincidentally, Lindsey was inspired by the Inkblot Test exactly 100 years after it was published because of the way it demonstrates how humans can psychologically connect with abstract art. Also, the artist felt moved by Rorschach’s suggestion that viewing abstract art can channel self-reflection. Lindsey intends Reflections of Memories to serve as an introduction of her artistic vision to the public.
Butterfly, 12″x9″ Acrylic on two canvases.
When Lindsey was initially designing the collection Reflections of Memories (ROM), she referred to a technique used to create the images of the Inkblot Test. The painting “Butterfly” is a prime example of how a technique that was originally used on paper with ink can translate on canvas with acrylic paint. The technique evolved in Lindsey’s practice as the collection progressed, resulting in diverse images with similar characteristics. The aesthetic of ROM consists of bold, balanced, abstract images meant for accessing the viewer’s subconscious and allowing them to naturally self-reflect. Lindsey intends for the aesthetic to be therapeutic for viewers and for the descriptions of each piece to offer psychological insight. Since the artist intends viewers to meditate while viewing her artwork, some of the descriptions of her pieces suggest how to use mindfulness while viewing art. Plus, some of the paintings’ descriptions offer insight about relevant mental health issues and social welfare issues that are present in America, which Lindsey believes deserve more public awareness. Ultimately, the artist hopes that presenting ROM will increase public knowledge about America’s social welfare to improve the nation’s social landscape and public health one viewer at a time.
Two Birds – Two Serpents, 16″x20″ Acrylic on two canvas panels.
Some viewers might think the painting “Two Birds – Two Serpents” looks like two birds facing each other, but others might think it looks like two serpents. Birds can be a symbol of friendship, but serpents can be a symbol of death. Lindsey asks viewers to be aware of a similar discrepancy when they perceive the usefulness of opioids in America. Are opioids helpful, or dangerous?
Although reducing access to opioids and fentanyl has been a common American approach since the 1970s, it fails to address the underlying causes of drug addiction and the importance of education. “Opioid use” can be recreational, medicinal, and stopped as needed. “Opioid addiction” is a perceived need for continued use despite functional impairment. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that has effects similar to other opioids, but is 100 times more potent. It can be used therapeutically in healthcare settings, such as through a transdermal patch for chronic pain treatment in opioid-tolerant patients. In other cases, opioid replacement therapy, including medications like methadone and suboxone, helps individuals recover from opioid addiction.
Pain, 8″x10″ Acrylic on two canvases.
The painting “Pain” represents the facial expression of someone who feels pain. Lindsey understands how complicated and vital it can be for people to learn cope with pain, so she dedicated this piece to share insight about how mindfulness can be used for pain management. She asks viewers to consider if pain is emotional, physical, or if it is mind over matter. Lindsey’s advice is… Pain is real, so treat yourself kindly and mindfully to cope.
Mindfulness exercises can help people with physical and emotional pain by focusing their thoughts on the present moment without judgment. For example, the body scan is a mindfulness exercise. Its goal is not to cure the pain completely, but to get to know it and learn from it. Learning from pain leads to managing it. Plus, it reduces subsequent symptoms of depression and anxiety. Lindsey suggests downloading a meditation application on your favorite device, or stopping by a meditation class to try the body scan for yourself.
Under A Microscope, 16″x20″ Acrylic on two canvas panels.
The title of this painting suggests that viewers should examine the painting like it is a specimen from an experiment. The concept “art is like an experiment” was central to the artist’s process when Lindsey created the collection Reflections of Memories. She invites viewers of her artwork to allow themselves a mindful moment to study each piece because the thought process could improve their mental health. Here’s how to view artwork mindfully:
A five-minute meditation – First, observe your breath, notice the feeling of the floor beneath you, focus on the physical sensations and sounds in the present, acknowledge your thoughts and let them go. Then, shift your attention to the artwork. Alternate between using your breath as a focus for mindfulness and using the art to keep exploring the world within it. After five minutes, you might notice how this practice helps you process stressful thoughts, memories, or emotions.
Untitled, 16″x20″ Acrylic on two canvas panels.
Lindsey chose not to title this painting, so viewers are encouraged to title it themselves after rearranging the canvas panels and interpreting their own perspective. This type of attention to detail is also known as mindfulness. In modern life, finding moments of tranquility is increasingly valuable and art offers a vibrant pathway to achieve mindful serenity.
Two Doves & Their Little One, 16″x20″ Acrylic on canvas panel.
This painting symbolizes a peaceful community. Part of Lindsey’s intension for publicizing her artwork is to share information about America’s social welfare to hopefully decrease stigma and improve public health. For example, Relational Cultural Theory5 is a framework rooted in multiculturalism and feminism. It emphasizes the importance of interconnectedness between individuals and their community for overall well-being. Also, it explains the negative impact that stigma has on people’s ability to connect with their community. Stigma is a disconnecting mechanism that hinders human development. The artist hopes that “Two Doves & Their Little One” will remind viewers how knowledge and empathy can extinguish stigma, so people can truly live well.
Ocean of Oil, 15″x20″ Acrylic on canvas.
Part of Lindsey’s intension for sharing her artwork with the world is to share research about mental health to hopefully decrease stigma about it. For example, people who live with personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder (BPD), face significant social stigma4. This stigma arises from the disruptive nature of personality disorders, which affects relationships and challenges adherence to social norms. Additionally, there is a perception that these disorders are untreatable and exceedingly difficult to work with, even among clinicians themselves. Consequently, individuals with BPD often encounter barriers when trying to access appropriate care within the mental health system. Family members who provide care for individuals with BPD also experience stigma, which further impedes their ability to coordinate support and access effective healthcare services. The lives of people with BPD are frequently marked by relational conflicts, which extend to their interactions with healthcare systems and result in feelings of alienation and a lack of access to care. The artist hopes that “Ocean of Oil” will remind viewers how knowledge and empathy can cleanse stigma from the murky ocean of mental illness, so people can truly live well.
Vortex, 15″x20″ Acrylic on canvas.
The artist titled this painting based on the whirling movement she perceives while observing it. Lindsey dedicated “Vortex” to raise awareness about substance use disorders because she believes the journey to overcome substance use disorders is like a whirling vortex of emotions and challenges. Substance disorders are different than “substance use” because substance disorders are diagnosed based on a person’s perceived need to continuously use a substance despite functional impairment. “Substance use” is when a person can use a substance medicinally, or recreationally. Research suggests that substance disorders (particularly opioid addiction) are highly stigmatized in the western world, which creates barriers for people with substance disorders to access care6. Stigma causes people to suffer from humiliation and avoidance, which limits individuals with addiction from engaging in and completing treatment. Also, stigma hinders healthcare providers from using unbiased interventions. Substance use disorders are complex and challenging mental illnesses to treat that require highly skilled practitioners to effectively administer care. The artist hopes that “Vortex” will remind viewers that knowledge and empathy can redirect stigma from throwing someone off their path for recovery.
Bang! Bang!, 16″x20″ Acrylic on canvas.
The title of this painting suggests that a forceful movement occurs in the artwork. Part of Lindsey’s intension for sharing her artwork with the world is to influence a force of improvement in America’s social landscape by sharing research about social welfare to hopefully decrease stigma about it. For example, the Social Ecological Model (SEM) is a theory that incorporates socioenvironmental conditions to better understand health, as opposed to solely focusing on individual, interpersonal, and genetic factors1. SEM recognizes that systemic pressures play a larger role in health challenges than individual behaviors. For example, the majority of females who have been socialized in the U.S. have negative body image issues that are often perceived as personal failings. A person who believes their own appearance is a sign of failure will probably suffer from an eating disorder. However, through critical thinking around culture, people can gain a broader perspective and find inspiration to heal their self-narrative, which is necessary to maintain habits for good physical health.
Untitled 2, 6″x8″ Acrylic on 3 canvas panels.
The artist chose not to title two of her pieces from the collection Reflections of Memories because she wants viewers to title them based on their own interpretation after rearranging the canvas panels as they wish. Lindsey hopes this engagement with the artwork will help viewers integrate mindfulness into their everyday routines. The painting “Untitled 2” is dedicated to the introspective nature of painting, which encourages a focus on the process rather than the outcome. Mindfully viewing art is a slow observation that is meant for seeing with intention and with awareness of the connection between the artwork and the viewer’s mental well-being. Sometimes, it serves as a brief escape into tranquility because mindfully viewing art is meditative.
Skull, 9″x16″ Acrylic on canvas.
The artist dedicated the painting “Skull” to share information about coping with grief because she understands that everyone suffers from grief eventually in their life, so she hopes that sharing information will help viewers of her artwork. Psychologically speaking, grief is an emotional response to a death. To grieve means being mindful of your thoughts and feelings, so you can find a renewed sense of purpose, direction, and meaning for moving forward in life. Grieving in a healthy way happens when people 1) Accept their feelings are valid, 2) Express themselves, 3) Accept guidance from professionals, 4) Care for their physical health, 5) Celebrate their loved one’s life in-honor. These 5 acts are supposed to be done consistently throughout a survivor’s life in any order they please. The acts are not meant to be completed like stages of treatment.
Trapped, 18″x18″ Acrylic on canvas.
The title of “Trapped” suggests that a confining sense of pressure is happening in the painting. The artist dedicated the painting to decrease stigma about disabilities because Lindsey believes people with disabilities unfairly suffer from a similar pressure in everyday life. The term “disability” encompasses a wide range of challenges that individuals face when navigating the world, including physical access and movement, as well as social interactions personally and professionally. “Disability” can be further classified into “visible” and “invisible” disabilities. Mental illness is an example of an invisible disability. People with disabilities often suffer from stigma caused by “ableism”. Ableism is a systemic issue and a public perception that privileges non-disabled people with ease of access to the world and ease of access to legislative power3. The issue exacerbates disability by creating challenging physical environments and causing unwelcoming social environments because ableism ignores the true needs of disabled people. It is essential to adapt public spaces and systems of power to better support individuals with disabilities. This would demonstrate compassion, preserve human dignity, and has the potential to alleviate disability itself.
Landscape, 15″x20″ Acrylic on canvas.
The painting “Landscape” is the artists abstract interpretation of a natural landscape of hills. Lindsey hopes that sharing her artwork will improve the social landscape of America because each piece is dedicated to a cause for mental health, or social welfare. In her eyes knowledge equals health. For example, “Landscape” is dedicated to Minority Stress Theory (MST)5. MST explains that people who belong to socially disadvantaged populations are exposed to unique stress experiences. The stress is because of stereotypes (generalized belief about a group), prejudice (negative attitude toward a person/group), discrimination (behavior that treats a group unfairly), and poor social support associated with being a member of a social minority group. The prolonged experience of this type of stress can cause negative health outcomes and worsen a person’s existing mental/physical health problems. LGBTQ individuals, racial/ethnic minorities, disabled persons, and individuals with low income frequently encounter minority stress.
Spinning Hands, 36″x60″ Acrylic on cardboard.
“Spinning Hands” represents what the artist believes anxiety feels like when life’s questions spin around one’s mind so forcefully that it could suspend you above the ground if the force was physically real. Symbolically, the swirling momentum of the painting represents life’s turbulence. The two hands represent one’s ability to weigh decisions. The candle flames represent the life experience people endure and ultimately gain. Anxiety is a serious mental illness that significantly impairs functioning and limits daily activities. Individuals with mental illness typically have a shorter life expectancy compared to the general population, often due to preventable physical illnesses that are the result of poor mental health endured for too long5. There is a social stigma associated with mental illness, which can lead to increased isolation and a need to conceal one’s condition to fit in socially. This stigma also poses barriers to receiving mental health care, particularly in work environments. Similarly, seeking mental health care can be seen as stigmatized in certain cultures that value independence, or fear intrusion by regulatory systems (“Big Pharma” for example). Cultural sensitivity is necessary to ensure accurate access to care for every American.
Mermaid, 30″x45″ Acrylic on canvas.
The painting “Mermaid” is a painting that seems to be alive. The artist has been observing this piece in her home for years and still finds new details in the texture of the surface. There are so many layers of acrylic paint that it rises off of the canvas. Lindsey’s intension for creating “Mermaid” was to mindfully paint a piece that culminated all the techniques she learned throughout the year 2021. Plus, she wanted to apply as many layers of acrylic paint as possible until January 1st, 2022. This was the final painting the artist created for the collection Reflections of Memories.