Part 1:
For my shrine, I want to focus on the topic of mental health. This phenomenon/theme is important to me because there is often a stigma around mental health. People tend to think that poor mental health is a reflection of weakness. This misconception often prevents people from seeking help. In my own life, I have made conscious efforts to improve my mental health. Beyond that, I have seen how prioritizing mental health has helped so many other people in my life. I hope that in creating a shrine centered around mental health I can demonstrate and convey its importance within my life, and others. I also hope that I can encourage others to start to recognize and destigmatize the negative attitudes around mental health. There are three ways I can look at mental health for this project. The first is to focus on things that can impact mental health. The second is to focus on ways to improve mental health. The third is mental health as a whole, as a breadth of feelings/emotions. I hope that through the use of intentional icons I can emphasize to my audience, and myself, that mental health can and should always be a priority. I want people to see how important focusing on my mental health has been in my life as well.
Part 3:
I intend to use this piece as a strategy to borrow as it depicts emotion in a simple and indirect form through the use of portraiture.
