This photo series focuses on looking at aspects of mental health and the inherent struggles many face who combat with the weight the fight can leave them with. The photographer, Lily Sasha Idle, came to me asking me to be a part of her Pill- Up series, which makes up chapter 1 of the shoot. It takes the style of Pin-Up Girls for a bit more of a lighthearted approach to normalizing mental health medication, to embrace it and wear it proudly, rather than allowing it be shamed or hidden away from judging eyes.
MUA: Miranda Riddle
Photographer: Lily Sasha Idle
Part I: Pill-Up Girl
Part II: Inner Demons
For this segment I wanted to dive in to the “invisible” struggle many who battle with their mental health face. We wanted to bring out that turmoil, pain, overwhelming fear, a sort of ghost or shadow always with you even though unseen by others. Yet ultimately it is still a part of you, ignoring ones demons doesn’t eradicate them, but perhaps facing them head on they could almost be a sort of companion, able to become an ally in the fight of all life can throw at you.
Part III: A Descent in to Madness
This set was inspired by the film, Joker (2019), showing someone who feels immense pain that piles up until it becomes too much to bare and becomes to destroy you and in the process giving birth to a creature that thrives on chaos. I always thought the Joker’s outlook on how humanity as a whole isn’t that far off from being just like him, all it takes is a little push, “One bad day” and the unraveling could be final. We wanted to explore this fear and potential, not to condemn anyone who is suffering or claim this is inevitable, but more to understand those fears and if anything prioritize the importance of looking after ones mental health as well as to encourage us all to be more empathetic human beings, to be aware and care about others’ struggle, to acknowledge we never truly know what someone else battles with and if they could be near that breaking point.
