Mental Health and Nature: Jennifer Adams

I have always maintained that getting out into nature is a perfect (and usually free) way to improve mood and general mental health, so I was really pleased to see this exhibition at Belco Arts that propounds the same theory. 

Jennifer Adams has a long term mental health disability and has been painting for over twenty years. The catalogue notes, "Mental Health treatment is often viewed as a clinical activity, taking place within four walls. This exhibition challenges that narrow view to see our experience of nature as vital for mental health."

It continues, "This exhibition is her first solo in more than ten years. In ths exhibition, Jenny has the freedom to celebrate nature experienced locally in Canberra, in nearby farmland that has been returned to its natural environment and in other locations around Australia."

"Jenny has a distinctive approach to her subject, drawing out shapes, adding vibrant colours and decorative elements, to express her response to the natural world... The exhibition is designed to be experiential, so that the viewer is wrapped around by the colours, designs and positive imagery of the art displayed. This way a viewer can immerse themselves in the way Jenny appreciates the natural world for her own mental health."

I enjoy the vibrancy of these images, and the calming feeling of the greens and blues of the water.  I would happily hang one of these on my walls, but am equally happy that the rash of red dots below the artworks means that they have already been sold.

Townsville’s Palmetum

When we learned a good friend had died, we had been expecting it, but were still devastated. We were in Townsville at the time and we went to the Palmetum to reflect. It's a botanic garden displaying one the largest and most diverse public collections of plams in the world. Botanic gardens make me feel calm - there is a reassuring sense of life, growth and continuity. It was what I needed to find peace.

I haven't really got words, so I will just share images. 

In the avenue of Bismarkia nobilis

The Xerophytic Zone is the sort of desert area, which receives irrigation only while plants are being established or during extremely long dry spells. The flowers are bright, but the stalks are spiky and often covered in insects.

I find spirals and circles comforting as they return to their beginnings and intimate infinity. 

Some of them remind me of corals and marine plants and animals - I suppose nature uses similar formations throughout all environments. 

These green ants are found throughout tropical northern Australia from the western Kimberley through northern NT to central eastern Queensland. They are called gulguk by the Larrika people, who harvest them ethically in Arnhem land. They are mainly orange with a bright green abdomen, which is edible, with a powerful taste of citrus and coriander seed. As they are high in protein, Vitamin C and iron, and also contain amino acids, Zinc, Magnesium and B12, they were traditionally used in the Indigenous diet and medicines, to combat coughs and colds. They are now increasingly found as a garnish and a flavouring for everything from cheeses to boutique gin.   

And then we return to a cool spot with a water fountain, because water is life.