Celebrating the first Men’s Mental Health Awareness Day in the City of Vancouver: June 14th, 2016, as part of Men’s Health Week.
Be strong. Hold it together. Don’t show emotion.
When we try to achieve standards like the above, we repress our feelings. We hide depression with isolation, alcohol, or work. We act like big parts of ourselves don’t exist.
We become, on the surface, an “ideal” man.
Refract is an installation that challenges this too-simple definition of manliness.
We started with five mannequins, each painted a solid colour with quotes to represent different masculine archetypes.
Then, like how many colours become visible when light refracts through a prism, we mixed and reassembled their parts to represent broader definitions of man.
By doing so, we aim to make it okay for men to be who they are, connect with how they feel, and seek support when they need it.
Quotes written on the mannequins were taken from and inspired by research conducted by the Movember-funded Men’s Depression and Suicide Network at UBC, and recovery story videos from HeadsUpGuys.
The exhibit was held outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on June 13th and 14th, 10am-7pm.
For other Men’s Health Week projects and campaigns:
