Mariyama
"Healer Energy"
In the solo exhibition, "Healer Energy", the Ghanaian-diasporic artist Mariyama raises the question of what potential lies in healing processes that are not only done individually, in private, but also collectively or even publicly. Her works centre upon what handlings of mental instabilities and trauma, especially transgenerational and black trauma, could be like. Mariyama views the interaction with the viewer and their perspective as an essential part of the art.
Mariyama:
Mental states are highly individual. But we also have so much in common in that field. These similarities might be forgotten because of Western society's taboos around mental instabilities. Nowadays, we tend to face mental health issues and trauma in private. Shared healing processes have become very rare. Only in the last few years have we experienced them more through social media. But healing in the community is not a new phenomenon. Different communities worldwide have been practising collective healing for many centuries. This became much less with the world's colonisation, the violent spread of Western, capitalistic norms, and the denial of the emotions of colourized people.
I wonder what potential can be unleashed by reconnection with our ancestor's knowledge of collective healing. I started leaning into that perspective after a good friend asked me how it feels to heal publicly through my art. And in fact, sharing my deepest emotion through art took my own healing processes to another level. I started painting in art therapy. Therefore, art has always been a way to access and express my emotions. By experiencing this new dimension of healing through sharing and discussing emotions publicly, I started wondering if such experiences can elevate the healing processes of us all.
Wisdom is gained through interactions. So how can we achieve the wisdom of ourselves and emotional intelligence if we don't share conversations around these topics? I wish for my art to be a starter of these conversations. Mental states are highly individual. So is one's interpretation of abstract art. We might associate different images and emotions with certain pieces. But we are likely also to find common ground, deeply connect or even learn from each other's interpretations. Each artwork displays an emotion that I felt while painting it, and it is to be transformed by the emotions it invokes in you.
Mariyama:
Mental states are highly individual. But we also have so much in common in that field. These similarities might be forgotten because of Western society's taboos around mental instabilities. Nowadays, we tend to face mental health issues and trauma in private. Shared healing processes have become very rare. Only in the last few years have we experienced them more through social media. But healing in the community is not a new phenomenon. Different communities worldwide have been practising collective healing for many centuries. This became much less with the world's colonisation, the violent spread of Western, capitalistic norms, and the denial of the emotions of colourized people.
I wonder what potential can be unleashed by reconnection with our ancestor's knowledge of collective healing. I started leaning into that perspective after a good friend asked me how it feels to heal publicly through my art. And in fact, sharing my deepest emotion through art took my own healing processes to another level. I started painting in art therapy. Therefore, art has always been a way to access and express my emotions. By experiencing this new dimension of healing through sharing and discussing emotions publicly, I started wondering if such experiences can elevate the healing processes of us all.
Wisdom is gained through interactions. So how can we achieve the wisdom of ourselves and emotional intelligence if we don't share conversations around these topics? I wish for my art to be a starter of these conversations. Mental states are highly individual. So is one's interpretation of abstract art. We might associate different images and emotions with certain pieces. But we are likely also to find common ground, deeply connect or even learn from each other's interpretations. Each artwork displays an emotion that I felt while painting it, and it is to be transformed by the emotions it invokes in you.
aaimba Gallery
Lise-Meitner-Str 39-41, 10589 Berlin
Germany
Visits by appointment.
Germany
Visits by appointment.
Opening: April 27, 2023
Closing: June 2, 2023