Issue #1

MINDSCAPES:
Mental Health & Wellbeing

Ana Mendieta ◦ Awanle Ayiboro Hawa Ali ◦ Anastasia Rydlevskaya ◦ Izabela Chamczyk ◦ Michalina Kacperak and more


Mindscapes: Mental Health & Wellbeing

What role does art play in your own mental well-being? Do you believe vulnerability in art can spark meaningful change in how society approaches mental health? Should it? Art has always been a mirror to the human condition, reflecting both its brilliance and fragility. Although discussed by many already, mental health – and its intersection with art – still remains a rather unmapped territory with many possibilities to encounter. Let us take you on a thrilling exploration of how contemporary art addresses mental health, touching on themes like loneliness, loss, pressure, fears, and trauma in our new series. 

At Contemporary Lynx, we are more than just a publication but a space for ideas, creativity, and critical conversations shaping contemporary culture to flourish. This year, alongside our regular content, our community gets a chance to delve into key topics that truly matter with special issues resonating deeply across the art world. Through stories, interviews, and reflections, we’ll show how artists use their work to open conversations, challenge stigma, and provide comfort. These articles aim to inspire by offering new perspectives on how art connects us to our emotions and each other in today’s complex world. 

 

This new exclusive digital issue showcases thought-provoking essays, and interviews, digging deep into art and well-being and exploring mental health through contemporary art. Grażyna Siedlecka introduces us to nine photographers dealing with loss and grief, asking how this medium is intimately intertwined with the concept of death and can also be a tool for coming to terms with a changed reality. Joanna Pottle asks questions about how artists and institutions confront war, grief, and social tensions through their work, and how creative expression and freedom become vital for difficult conversations, encouraging long-term change.  Niccolò Lucarelli takes us to Ali Cherri’s Vienna solo show, How I am Monument, exploring how mud has been shaped as the medium bearing human history and pain. Anna Tomczak confronts multiple stories of female artists, like Ana Mendieta, who for way too long have been regarded merely as “artists’ wives”, sexual objects, or hysterical women, examining their mental condition and artistic freedom imposed by the Western art world society, its structures and gender norms. While, also as part of our Artist in Focus series, the photography of Michalina Kacperak, whose artistic practice engages both documentary and fine arts, gives us a glimpse into memory, family, and personal trauma. 

 

Yet, beyond the challenges, the celebration of possibility inherent in creativity is not overlooked, either. Alex Mirutziu discusses with Alexandra Bălășoiu, an artist and creative mind behind the “mind-moving” project that blends dance, performance, and social interaction in an inspiring way, placing artistic tools at the centre of the conversation, looking beyond the psychiatric diagnosis. He also had a chance to visit Chiharu Shiota’s exhibition in Kunsthalle Praha, and walks us through this introspective journey of the renowned Japanese artist, delving into the complexities of the human condition. Together with Goshka Macuga, Maggie Kuzan explores how to skillfully connect the past and the present. Aleksandra Lisek presents international artists addressing mental health through their work, establishing a means of mediation, connecting with audiences, and encouraging meaningful conversations. Joanna Łuniewicz provides ten film-based ways to take of yourself, as self-care is balance. Finally, Patrycja Rozwora delves into the worlds of artists, leaders, and those working in the art and culture industry to share experiences and tips on managing loneliness in creative work, finding therapeutic moments in collaboration, and seeking inspiration in self-care. Alicja Głuszek sat down with Guillermina Baiguera, the most intriguing and innovative Latin American embroidery artist, to discuss her use of textiles to address themes, such as fear, pain, regeneration, and the passage of time. Alicja also introduces us to the concept of Art Therapy, while Alicja Stąpór speaks to Awanle Ayiboro Hawa Ali about her practice as an anthem of liberation, empowering other women, and initiating a collective movement. Both articles will be published coming soon. 

 

How do we ensure art remains a space for genuine human exploration? At Contemporary Lynx, we see art as more than aesthetic but a powerful tool for advocacy, healing, and sparking dialogues that transcend borders and experiences. Whether you seek connection, understanding, or inspiration, we hope this series resonates deeply, inviting you to explore your own mindscapes. 

review Izabela Chamczyk, Toxic. Photo courtesy of the Foksal Gallery in Warsaw, photo: Bartosz Górka.

Meanings that transcend language. Profiles of international artists addressing mental health through their work.

Aleksandra Lisek Jan 29, 2025
essay

Hysterical Women and Their Husbands’ Wives. On a Certain Type of Woman in the Art World.

Anna Tomczak Jan 29, 2025
review Michalina Kacperak, Untitled #3 (Under the paper), from the ‘Soft Spot’ series, 2021–2024

ARTIST IN FOCUS: Michalina Kacperak. An artist glimpsing into memory, family, and personal trauma.

Patrycja Poznańska Jan 29, 2025
Interview

Loneliness in the Arts: A Guide for Artists. Leaders, curators, and artists share their strategies for living and creating.

Patrycja Rozwora Jan 29, 2025
review Sayuri Ichida, Absentee #213 (2021) and #181 (2020)

A space for us to meet again. 9 photographers dealing with loss and grief.

Grażyna Siedlecka Jan 29, 2025
review

Lessons on a good life. 10 film-based ways providing a fresh perspective on self-care.

Joanna Łuniewicz Jan 29, 2025
essay Openverse. "Susan Sontag Book: 'After the event has ended, the picture will still exist, conferring on the event a kind of immortality (and importance) it would never otherwise have enjoyed' by Jikatu. Accessed September 22, 2024.

Exhibiting Care in Critical Times. The impact of war zones and conflicts on the arts community.

Joanna Pottle Jan 29, 2025
Interview Goshka Macuga, Born From Stone, 2024. Photo: Jason Alden.

Knitting together the past and the present. In conversation with Goshka Macuga.

Maggie Kuzan Jan 29, 2025
Interview "Mind Moving", photo by Cristina Matei.

To look beyond the psychiatric diagnosis. In conversation with Alexandra Bălășoiu.

Alex Mirutziu Jan 29, 2025
review Ali Cherri, How I Am Monument, installation view, Secession 2024, photo Sophie Pölzl.

Examining the material’s history. An exhibition at Secession. Ali Cherri, mud, and bronze as a metaphor of violence.

Niccolò Lucarelli Jan 29, 2025
Interview Guillermina Baiguera, "Medium" exhibition. Photo by Ana Pontiggia.

The tangible and the emotional resonance. In conversation with Guillermina Baiguera.

Alicja Głuszek Jan 29, 2025
review Silent concert, 2024, metal, wool, installation shot from Kunsthalle Praha.

Between bloodlines, relationships, and territorial boundaries. Chiharu Shiota at Kunsthalle Praha.

Alex Mirutziu Jan 29, 2025
Interview

Bringing forward stories of African womanhood in a patriarchal society. In conversation with Awanle Ayiboro Hawa Ali.

Alicja Stąpór Jan 29, 2025

Art Writers:

  • Maggie Kuzan,
  • Aleksandra Lisek,
  • Joanna Łuniewicz,
  • Alex Mirutziu,
  • Joanna Pottle,
  • Nazar Atamaniuk,
  • Patrycja Rozwora,
  • Grażyna Siedlecka,
  • Patrycja Stąpór,
  • Alicja Głuszek,
  • Niccolò Lucarelli,
  • Patrycja Poznańska.

Translations:

  • Monika Mokrosz,
  • Karolina Jasińska.

Proofreading:

  • Berenika Belcer,
  • Richard Greenhill,
  • Weronika Gromow.

Illustrations:

Portrets created by Marta Krysińska:

  • Alicja Stąpur,
  • Alex Miritziu
  • Alicja Stąpur,
  • Anna Nowok
  • Anna Tomczak,
  • Grażyna Siedlecka,
  • Justyna Trojanowska,
  • Maggie Kuzan,
  • Patrycja Rozwora
  • Sylwia Krasoń.

Portrets generated via Midjourney:

  • Aleksandra Lisek,
  • Berenika Balcer,
  • Joanna Łuniewicz’
  • Joanna Pottle,
  • Nazar Atamaniuk,
  • Niccolò Lucarelli,
  • Patrycja Poznańska.

LYNX Team: