An Artist's Point of View
I want to get better is an exploration of the destruction and construction that one might face when dealing with mental illness, focusing especially on the loss of control one feels with intrusive and distortive thoughts. The flags illustrate and acknowledge a variety of webs and traps, which when ensnared, can be destructive and debilitating. The paper cranes are an example of construction to take back agency echoing the Japanese belief that if one folds a thousand paper cranes, they will be granted one wish. That one wish here: I want to get better.
The paper cranes are folded out of different types of paper that one might find in a psychiatric ward such as printer paper, wax paper, construction paper, parchment paper, and craft paper. Some of them are decorated with pencil crayons, salt water, and washable markers. The paper cranes are a manifestation of hope, compulsion, and prayer.
I want to get better is an invitation to experience possible manifestations of destructive mental health and an acknowledgement of resilience in the construction and creation it takes to move forward even if divine intervention feels like the only solution.
Artist Biography
Naomi Fong is an award-winning artist and storyteller based in the unceded traditional territories of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musequeam Indian Band), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Nation) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh Nation.) The aim of her art is to communicate personal experiences and bring emotional truth and awareness to those who have faced similar stigmatized events. The style of her art is more humanistic than aesthetic. To Naomi, real life is not glamorous or perfectly crafted but unadorned and flawed.
Naomi’s work has been featured in Applied Arts Magazine, Star Monthly Magazine, ATB’s Art Vault, and Renegade Arts Entertainment. She is represented by Essie White at Storm Literary Agency (stormliteraryagency.com) for children’s literature and comics. You can find more of her work at naomispractice.com or follow her stories at @naomispractice on Instagram.