This year has been like no other and for many exacerbated or generated struggles with our mental health, and joining medical school has only presented further challenges for us as new medical students. We have had to adapt our learning style to cope with learning primarily online, move to new cities and be isolated from our peers (who we would normally get to know in lectures and regular tutorials), start a medical degree whilst being in our bedrooms for hours all day, and be locked in with our thoughts and worries day in and day out. This year has been hard for many in a multitude of different ways. 

In addition, it truly has been a year of reflection and within challenging times we often find ourselves better connecting to what we were unable to see in ourselves before. It has given us an opportunity to think about our mental health more regularly, and deeply, as its influence has been undeniably powerful in this past year.  

I chose to use fine pens to create line-art for my selected medium. The reason behind the use of line art, within an outline of the brain, is that it creates a sense of movement and flow. The brain itself is constantly engaged and working, it’s a never-ending hub of activity, and the use of colour helps to highlight the beauty in its complexity and further enhance its vivacity. However, this is a piece about mental health. Despite the beauty the colour evokes, this notion of non-stop movement conveys the churning of the brain that doesn’t seem to calm or have any end – it is constantly working with no sight of slowing down. This bright central element is contrasted greatly by the chosen background. The use of the plain white background not only creates a starkness in the contrast with colour but generates a sense of isolation of this brain from its surrounding environment.  It is alone and perpetually moving, replicating the loneliness that many feel when struggling with their mental health.  

The idea behind selecting the brain was to draw together medical school and wellbeing. A brain typically is selected in mental health imagery, but I thought representing it here anatomically would also nod to the medical degree we are undertaking. As medical students we have not only had the privilege of studying the brain, but it metaphorically represents the journey we are undertaking, by gaining new knowledge. Thus, the brain imagery connects the two sides perfectly together. 

The brain is complex yet intricate and we must all look after our mental health but importantly, look out for those around us.