This was my final major university project that lasted the entire academic year. I have always been curious about Art Therapy and what it can do for people, so for me this was the perfect opportunity to explore it in more detail. 'Reviver' is a publication that celebrates Art Therapy and the benefits that it has on mental health and overall wellbeing. The first 12 weeks of final year were spent solely doing research on our chosen topics, which for me was a double edged sword as the research then became the content for Reviver Magazine.
I also wanted to make the magazine unique by making it read both ways - by picking one up, if you flipped it over, it had another front cover, and read to the middle. I split the content into two halves - one focusing purely on modern Art Therapy techniques, trends (such as the adult therapy colouring that we see so much of these days) and interesting finds. The other half was a little more hedonistic and was entitled ‘Arts and Culture’ - which contained content from gallery visits, street art that I photographed and some interviews of people I visited whilst doing research.
The title ‘Reviver’ was chosen for a number of reasons. First of all, the word ‘Reviver’ is what is known as a palindrome - a word that reads back to front (other examples are racecar, kayak and the name Hannah) - this reflected the format of the magazine, which as explained, also reads both ways. Secondly, the definition of reviver is “return to consciousness; restore to health” which in essence reflects what Art Therapy is about - the restoration of stable mental health through the process of therapeutic art activities.
The installation for the grad show (photos below) - featured the magazines displayed on an upturned table and chair - this again reflects the “working both ways” idea - showing the table upturned but perfectly functional - as well as the balance on the chair which represents the balance of wellbeing. Also, it was intended to make people curious about what it was the project was about - which I wanted to do in order to make people feel a similar curiosity to the one I felt when initially approaching the subject matter of Art Therapy.
