**Content warning: mentions suicide and mental health**

We The Human: A Quiet Blue Wall, is a collaborative artwork aiming to lower the number of suicides through the use of the Cultural and Creative sectors. 

Designed and developed by an artist from the community of the neurodiverse at risk of suicidal ideation and attempted suicide for the community wishing to prevent suicide, their own or others.

It’s a project supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, hand in hand with the Arts Council Let’s Create manifesto, along with Phakama, ONCA, CASS Art and CNC Projects. 

Opening Times

Monday 20 February, 12 – 6pm (gallery open to the public)

21 February – 20 March (gallery closed, viewable from outside)

About the exhibition

We are under construction: 

The portraits initially submitted were installed in the main gallery space at ONCA on World Day of Social Justice, 20 February and open to the public from 12-6. 

ONCA gallery is located in South East England. The South East of England records the third highest rate of premature death by suicide in the UK. 

From the 21 February sections of the wall, in groups of 40, will be installed in the window of ONCA, on view, illuminated, 24 hours a day. This is in the lead up to International Day of Happiness, 20 March, which is also the first day of Spring, UK. Suicide data shows that globally suicide is seasonal with Spring being the hardest season for the greatest number of people.

Let’s experiment in getting in front of this societal crisis.

How to take part

Donate your creativity for the purpose of suicide prevention.

On a 30 x 30 cm canvas board, using only White and Prussian Blue oil paint, create a painting of your face in any style. 

Portraits can be submitted until 12 March to be included in the window exhibition at ONCA but please don’t drop off at the gallery, they need to be delivered to:

Flat 37, Old College House
8 – 10 Richmond Terrace
Brighton
BN2 9SY

There’s no submission fee or benchmark of artistic experience you need to climb over to have your self-portrait accepted, your collaboration and involvement is the precious bit.

Someone somewhere or maybe even yourself needs a quiet acknowledgement that struggles with emotional and mental health too many times come from the complexities of how society is structured.

It takes time to feel shredded by life. Small events can unravel us over a period of years, sometimes without us really realising what’s happening until we feel like we’re down to just a few threads holding us together. And it works the same in reverse. To re-thread ourselves takes small events, until we’ve got enough solid threads again as a piece of original non-stretch denim – that takes time, but we’ve got time. The work aims to run until 2030 when it will be archived. 

Click the link in the bio to take you to www.lauramohapi.com for all the details on how to be a part of this project.

Suicide is a societal problem. We are society. We can change society through positive, generous, kind action.

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Image credits: artworks by Laura Mohapi, Daniel H Bell and Kerrie Eddy Fox

Image description: grid of four square painted self portraits in Prussian blue and white oil paint