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“ ART IS THE GREATEST ASSET TO MENTAL HEALTH THAT I HAVE” GRAYSON PERRY2breaking down the idea that there is a separation.” As Perry made clear in his speech, there is an intimate connection between artistic creativity and psychological wellbeing, which has been probed and discussed throughout human history. Although it has proved difficult for researchers to provide clear quantitative evidence for the way that the arts provide a sanctuary for the spirit, studies have found positive links between creative activities and psychological resilience. This, researchers say, is because of the way that creativity stimulates both the logical and emotional parts of our brain, and helps us practice confronting challenges head-on. George J Harding is an artist who paints distorted self-portraits, as though his face is blurred by water, and multimedia works that play with concepts like fragmentation, surface and depth. His work has been exhibited and collected by the Bethlem Museum of the Mind. In 2015, he wrote for the medical journal The Lancet about the links between his art and his own experiences of mental illness. He explained that he suffered from episodes of psychosis throughout his twenties and art played an important role during this time and is “something I have been able to rely on.” Like Grayson Perry, he describes his creative practice as “my therapy” and “the way that I can overcome my difficulties”.This healing power can play a role in the stresses that every person must deal with as they navigate life, but it can also have particularly important applications in the treatment of various conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia and acute mental distress. Artscape, part of Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, was set up to help the users of mental health services to develop an artistic practice. Recently, Oxford DFAS, a local branch of The Arts Society, helped to fund a project where professional mosaic artist Becky Paton created a collaborative artwork with inpatients at the Highfield Unit Oxford, a specialist facility for young people with acute mental health needs. ART AND THE MIND37The Arts Society ReviewSummer 2017