Canvassing the emotions examines the role and meaning of artmaking in the lives of women who have experienced mental ill-health and/or psychological trauma in Australia between the 1950s and the present. Hovering at the nexus of a number of contested domains, the thesis bypasses the perennial question of what is art to explore the neglected and perhaps more interesting query – what does art do for the artmaker? – and associated questions of why does art matter; what is the function of artmaking in relation to wellbeing; and what are the implications of a thwarted life of making?
The thesis presents the findings of three studies: The Exhibition – a touring exhibition of art produced by women with an experience of mental ill-health; The Interviews – with thirty-two women who make art and who have experienced mental ill-health; and The Collage – a collation of women’s accounts of – what does art do?