Billy, United Kingdom

The piece was inspired from my personal battles with OCD. The four walls in the picture represent being trapped and lonely within a room with no escape, similar to how it can feel when battling OCD. I wanted to express and try to get out how I was feeling when I was battling severely with my OCD so I could show others as they didn’t understand what the illness was. They would very often describe it as a ‘quirky behavioural trait’ due to the lack of awareness and how the media portrays the illness. I would show my work to others and wouldn’t explain what I had seen in the picture but would wait to see what they could see and what emotions it brought up for them. I found this fascinating and it was an excellent way of starting a conversation about mental illness in general.

Although my paintings represent my battles and strike emotions in me that others cannot see or feel, I also love how once others see them they can interpret them in their own way, which strikes their own emotions and personal awareness. After all, we all see things differently.