Group Therapy. Mental distress in a digital age

A safe space to go mad

Madlove @ Group Therapy. Mental distress in a digital age. March – May 15. FACT Liverpool.

“Described as Utopian dreamers, eccentric English fantasists and barking mad agitators, artists the vacuum cleaner and Hannah Hull are on a mission to create the most crazy, bonkers, mental asylum we dare dream of.”

The first public presentation of Madlove’s research, working with designers Benjamin Koslowski and James Christian | Projects Office we created a space to test some key designer features.

Hannah and I invited the public to help imagine a designer asylum, asking the question: If you could design your own asylum, what would it be like? We asked people to consider the current social and medical perception of mental health, through a playful, imaginative and positive design process.

Through a series of workshops we listened to the full spectrum of people with lived experience of mental illness, those that work in the industry, artists, designers and anyone else with an interest. The stories, ideas and knowledge collected from these workshops directed the development of a blueprint for the creation of a temporary asylum in Liverpool at FACT.

During the exhibition at FACT the space was activated by an inspiring and thought-provoking weekly programme of talks, events and workshops from patients, nurses, psychologists, doctors, and thinkers from across the fields of psychology, health and society. These events and activities were open to the public to engage in the discussions and ideas that the installation provokes.

Credits and stuff

Collaboration with Hannah Hull

Designers Benjamin Koslowski and James Christian | Projects Office

With Emily Gee

Curation by Vanessa Bartlett

Fund Wellcome’s People Award