Expressing Courage Through Creativity: After Nyne Meets Dale vN Marshall
In preparation for his I am not a child exhibition contemporary artist Dale vN Marshall ran a development workshop with four teenagers in Edinburgh who live with conditions such as anxiety, ADHD, autism and circumstantial trauma. They spent the weekend painting and talking about their experiences which Dale has used to produce a powerful and emotional body of work. The importance of cross-generational influence is hugely relevant as the teenagers also inspired Dale with their courageousness as he revisited his own trauma and mental breakdown. After Nyne spoke to Dale to get further insight into his craft and its impact on wellbeing.
Can you give After Nyne a brief look into your history as an artist, and how this has, in turn, affected your craft?
I started practising graffiti from the age of 13. At 25 I went through a roller-coaster ride of mental trauma mixed with enlightenment, which was a result of my relationship with graffiti among other things. After finding some stability 8 years later I decided to study fine art in the UK and also Long Beach California. It was in LA that my practice developed from graffiti into conceptual contemporary fine art and today I exhibit internationally.
There has been research into a link between art and health. Do you think art can help improve wellbeing?
For me personally, art in all forms is one of the most important things - it has the great power of connecting people. I am a firm believer of art for rehabilitation as it has helped me and I think it could help others. Having spoken to many people who are dealing with uncomfortable inner feelings, my advice has always been - go and invest in some watercolours, go to a garden and paint some flowers, appreciate the surrounding nature, question nature and lose yourself for a while - because it can be very rewarding. This for me is taking time out, even if these moments are very difficult for a while. After time you can succeed in this difficulty and you may have a new talent, have regained your self-esteem and turned all your fears around. Join a local art club, share your experiences, talk to people and connect again. I say this because in my time of difficulty I became anxious from the quiet 3 hours of life drawing classes but I managed to overcome that fear and came to enjoy it, although I was terribly bad at it!
Could you talk more about the development workshops you ran and how this fed into your own work?
We ran three development workshops. The first was a morning of poetry with Jenny Lindsey, which led into the young people creating their own play with Maria Clair of the Acting Scene in Edinburgh. These youngsters worked so hard to the point of revelation in their own personal life. They were extremely courageous and honest about their personal life experiences, which were emotional and very powerful. This became the basis for my work. We spent the following day painting – it was important to give these youngsters free reign but also to offer some direction. We discussed ideas for the work and how to collaborate as equals. We had a vocal sharing exercise so I could understand more as this was very important for me to create the collection.
Do you think art should play a bigger role in healthcare, should national organisations such as the NHS be putting more investment in art-based therapies?
I once attended a day centre in Wells Somerset for a period of time when I was unwell. I found it incredibly difficult, as it was a compulsory program. There were many people having psychotic episodes and it was very distressing. It was as though I was sectioned but allowed to return after 'putting in my hours'. I would like to see more open centres that people could register with just to come and go. A bit like a church or a mosque, somewhere to go and create, with mentors who will listen and help direct with support and encouragement.
Can you talk through your work for the I am not a child exhibition, what were the pieces trying to achieve?
As I have said the young people showed much courage, which then gave me courage. I learned how delicate their lives were and I connected with their pain because it's something that I had experienced. I understood them. The exhibition was a personal emotional response to something they felt and something that I had felt a long time ago. I wanted to create a body of work that offered hope as well as showing their pain with their own words. They were dealing with the past but also present scars. The mark making and wounds in the collection showed their pain but the gentle colour palette represented their innocence, it was that collision that I wanted to get across more so then anything.
Moving forward how do you think the arts could be integrated further into healthcare?
There should be a tremendous focus on arts and wellbeing. Wellbeing helps personal growth. If people are unwell then it's hard for them to get off the starting block. Communities need to work together to integrate people. For a while the arts and much other funding have been cut and will continue to do so. So it's up to community spirit to find our own way of doing things. That’s what I try to achieve. Maybe more artists could join in collaborating for the cause of social issues where it's not just their personal work that is important but also reaching out to others who are in need with radical ideas for a better future. We created I am not a child by ourselves and our contacts with no outside investment - it can be done! It's up to us as people who believe in equality and wellbeing for all. Let's not spend our time complaining about the world we don't want but instead focus on creating the world we do want to live in. Share experiences, help people in need and get rewarded from that feedback.
I am not a child, 4th August - 3rd September
Scottish Storytelling Centre Fringe Storytelling Court at Fringe
Image credit: Dale Marshall, Scottish Storytelling Centre 2016
