Parkside Art Gallery has another unique show in it’s small side gallery never before featured in the South Cariboo.
The Unmasked/Unchained overcoming addiction art show is currently being presented by the artists of the Psalm 23 Society until June 26.
Psalm 23 Arts Program facilitator Gina Myhill-Jones says that as far as she is aware of, the Psalm 23 society is the first non-profit treatment and recovery centre in Canada to include an arts program to men in recovery.
“The thrust of this particular exercise was getting people to try to recognize the masks they wore during their addiction … its particularly therapeutic to recognize that this is how they were hiding – always behind the mask.”
Unchaining is also as important in overcoming addiction, as many people who suffer this feel they are “chained with no way to break free of that,” she explains.
The artists, all clients of its recovery centre at 59 Mile, are all enrolled in the arts program that is celebrating its first year of successful completion offering skills and relaxation by painting masks in their own personal expressions, she explains.
Myhill-Jones says she believes this helps clients by giving them “busy work” distracting them from the tougher pieces of recovery and is also exposing them to future art and social support from their art community, galleries and gallery culture. This second art program group has also seen participants sell some of their work at craft shows, she adds.
The art instructor notes this is the second group in the art program, so an early step that may lead to the theatre stage for some of them.
Over the past 12 months, various clients enrolled in the art program have also learned the public speaking, music appreciation, sketching, theatre sports, clay modelling, sculpture, beading, weaving, macrame, poetry, and more, she explains.
“We did actually create [and produce] a play with the last group. It was a one-act, five-minute play that we performed twice… at the Starfish Awards [Psalm 23 presentations] here in 100 Mile House, and again in Abbotsford.”
Dramatic masks they each painted varied from full-face theatre style to eye-covering domino (masquerade) style are displayed strung on chains with note tags attached explaining why each artist feels the mask best represents and expresses their own personal recovery.
Asked if they think the art program is helpful, some artists note they’ve only been in the program for a few weeks and others for months, but most say this art expression is healing in one way or another, or expects it will be down the road.
The familiar “comedy and tragedy” masks depicting Greek muses, often seen representing drama, are brought to mind in the show upon seeing the artwork painted by one participant.
“It is half happy and half sad, the happier part is in recovery, and the sad and broken is back in addiction, right?”
Another artist in the show says after the pages and pages of writing they do to document and deal with their addictions in the psychology of self-healing, this program also gives them the means to have fun.
However, the unmasking part of addiction expressed through some aspects of the overall art program is one of the more difficult elements for some, as one participant says he feels more comfortable doing physical tasks, such as “swinging a weed-eater” or playing hockey.
“I’d say it’s more of a challenge, for me anyway, having lived so much of my life in hiding, this is coming unmasked in a different way than I’ve ever [done] … I’ve surprised myself with some of my sketches, like my waterfall, that’s one of my favourites.
“I’m not an art-type guy, but I try to put a new attitude into it – so it’s brought me out of my comfort zone.”
The mask entitled “The Entertainer” is the artist’s expression of “living a double life” of addiction while entertaining, with layered labels surrounding it depicting Despair covered with I’m Good, Lonely with Confined, Angry tagged with Content, and Jealousy covering over I Love You.
Other participant comments included that through signing up for this elective art program, they have a chance to lighten up a bit and get a bit of a break from writing pages and pages of intense “step work” essential to their recovery.
“It a nice chance to relax and a change of pace from our everyday, and Gina [Myhill-Jones] is pretty fun – she just gives us a chance to cut loose a little bit – not just in doing our art, but our theatre sports (improvisational theatre) that we do is really fun.”
Parkside Art Gallery is open Tuesday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 401 Cedar Ave. in 100 Mile House.
