ABOUT THE PROJECT
Artist Barbara Cole’s newest collection of works in the upcoming exhibition, Surfacing, represents triumph, survival and self-actualization. It is a series of photographs of rising, shimmering figures against the enigmatic backdrop of the ocean. Like many of Cole’s other underwater images, there is a fantastical elegance to this body of work. This series, fueled by personal history in many ways, is an ode to the power of will and strength to overcome.
The art in Cole’s Surfacing exhibition not only to opens up a dialogue on mental health, but also helps to make those who are suffering silently aware that there are resources accessible to them. Cole is working with the organizations Bell Let’s Talk and the Campaign to Change Direction to further their initiatives in spreading awareness and de-stigmatizing mental health issues, as well as highlighting the accessibility of getting help by providing links and resources for those in need. Cole has also been working closely for years with Swim Drink Fish, a prominent Canadian water conservation organization dedicated to protecting and ensuring the safety of recreational water sources in communities across the country. Their other initiatives including the Swim Guide and the Watermark Project focus on safeguarding local bodies of water so future generations can enjoy them.
“My work not only echoes my own struggles and personal and artistic achievements, it speaks to all women who rise up, take back power and lead the way.”
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BARBARA’S STORY
“I haven’t beaten mental illness, but it certainly hasn’t beaten me.”
In the early 60’s, and for decades after that, there was a huge stigma surrounding any kind of mental health issue. It was swept under the rug and was very isolating. I was struggling with my own mental illness then and have been since.
Today, there are many more forms of help and they have become much more accessible. Mental health issues, which are just as prominent today, have been brought to light in a way that is progressive and communal, and society is getting closer to breaking the stigma.
I first showed symptoms of depression when I was about 7 or 8 years old and I often wondered how other kids got through life. My friend poetically refers to this as the flu of the soul. I felt inescapable despair, helplessness, fear…all accompanied with physical symptoms such as migraines, extreme fatigue and insomnia.
By the middle of high school, it became increasingly hard to function. I felt desperately sad and couldn’t break that cycle. This was when my suicidal thoughts began. Faced with increasing pressure to succeed, my dark moods became the norm for me. I couldn’t eat, sleep or stop crying. I ended up dropping out of high school and losing any sense of myself. The normal life I craved felt out of reach.
At 17, I entered a psychiatric hospital for three months, which seemed like it would be the end. In reality, this marked the beginning. After regular sessions with a therapist and through positive lifestyle changes, I slowly began to recover my mental health, rebuilding my self-esteem and my life. I haven’t beaten mental illness, but it certainly hasn’t beaten me.
The best way to challenge the perception of what a person with mental illness looks like, and combat the stigma of mental illness, is to begin a free and open dialogue. That is what I am attempting to do with Surfacing.
Nobody is more surprised than me at what my life looks like today. Despite, and perhaps because of, my many years of struggling with depression, I more fully appreciate my current life as a successful working photographic artist, mother and wife. I’ve learned that even in its darkest days, life isn’t hopeless, no matter how much one might feel that it is. There are always ways to find resilience and personal strength. My story is an ongoing testament to that.
