Kristen Bonner
A Stigma to Abnormal
Mental illnesses are surrounded by a negative stigma in today’s society often guided by rumors from uneducated people. Neuroscience has provided the world with a new approach to understanding the differences between the neurotypical and people who have developmental differences in their brains (AKA mental illnesses) through advanced image processing. People who suffer from mental illnesses have chemical differences from those who function normally. Through oil paint, brush, and many hours deep into research, I have studied brain scans of well-known mental illnesses, like depression, ADHD, and anxiety to highlight the reality surrounding these minds. While each brain is different, the special imaging used in the neuroscience field has been able to show researchers the similarities in people’s brain development who also exhibit similar traits, thus creating a stronger foundation for diagnosis. It is important to remember that everything in the psychological science field, including neuroscience, is based in theory and holds the opportunity to be disproven by further research. This is why this study is such an important combination of science and art, it is for the untrained eye to deepen their understanding of what the big scary words of neuroscience may not be able to illustrate towards a general population.
The Neurotypical
Oil on Canvas
ADHD
Oil on Canvas
PTSD
Oil on Canvas, unfinished
Schizophrenia
Oil on Canvas
Mania
Oil on Canvas
Autism
Oil on Canvas
Hallucinations
Oil on Canvas
Depression
Oil on canvas
Bipolar
Oil on Canvas
Artist Statement
I am a young artist from Virginia and senior at Salem College with a double major in Studio Art and Psychology. I will be continuing my studies at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York pursing a Masters in Creative Arts Therapy next fall. I currently specialize in oil paint but enjoy working in multiple mediums to have variety in the studio and freedom to move in expression. My work is mainly abstract with bright colors and organic shapes, but my thesis focus has had a much more structured approach. I am steadily inspired by the artists around me, the psychology I study, and from learning new things each day. I create art for those who may not understand everything around them, I seek to explain and break down concepts. I love to learn and will actively seek out information. I spend hours on end in the studio, hyper-focused into my work. Through this I have my personal outlet for anxieties and stressors and create something beautiful in the end. My work is often scattered in content as I have such a broad array of interests. There is undoubtedly trial and error surrounding everything we do and there is no shortage of that while creating, but I see that as part of the enjoyment from it. We learn more about ourselves through this. I believe knowledge and power lie in creativity.