20.01.2022 - 18.06.2022

MENTAL: HEAD INSIDE

Part exhibition, part experiment, MENTAL was a welcoming place to confront societal bias and stereotypes around mental health.

Over 20 experimental projects from local and international artists and research collaborators reflected a range of different perspectives on mental health and ways of being. This was a place to explore, empathise and question what it means to be human using science, technology and creativity.

Curated in collaboration with a team of young people with input from experts and academics across the sciences and creative arts, lived experience was platformed, acknowledged and centred as expertise in navigating a theme that matters more than ever.

ALL THE EXHIBITS

Content Warning

This exhibition contained some intense sensory experiences, confined spaces and lived experience of mental health.

Support Services

If you are struggling, please remember you are not alone, and help is available: Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800, Headspace, HealthDirect.

Meet the brains behind MENTAL

+ Expert Advisory Panel

Professor Sarah J Wilson, PhD FAHMS FASSA, Clinical Neuropsychologist and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Life), Former Head, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne

Cath Roper, Consumer Academic at the Centre for Psychiatric Nursing, The University of Melbourne

Anthony WP O’Sullivan is a Melbourne poet and author

Prof Jayashri Kulkarni, Professor of Psychiatry, Monash University

Tea Uglow, Google’s Creative Lab and part of Science Gallery Melbourne Leonardo committee

Jefa Greenaway, (Wailwan|Kamilaroi) Director of Greenaway Architects and Lecturer, Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne

+ Curatorial Panel

Mitch Mahoney, Indigenous (Boon Wurrung) artist who has a passion for marine biology and transdisciplinary creative practice.

Jue Theng Soo, Theatre practitioner, chemistry teacher, curious risk-taker experimenting in the banking industry

Rory Randall, Consumer Academic & Researcher

George Goodnow, Multidisciplinary artist whose work incorporates painting, sculpture, performance and the use of cardboard and other recycled materials to produce installations.

Brandon Iredale, Year 12 student and member of Science Gallery Sci Curious think-tank group

Tilly Boleyn, Head of Curatorial, Science Gallery Melbourne

Ryan Jefferies, Creative Director, Science Gallery Melbourne

BLOGS, ARTICLES AND IDEAS

Blog
A Deeper Look at Our Gut Feelings
A Deeper Look at Our Gut Feelings

They say ‘the key to a person’s heart is through their stomach’. Could it also be the key to their mood and mental health?

Head Inside the Isolation Chamber
Head Inside the Isolation Chamber

Imagine being observed through viewfinders, locked up inside a tiny, secluded room on the worst day of your life.

The New Zine on the Block
The New Zine on the Block

Explore this youth-made digital zine created in response to our MENTAL exhibition.

Josh Muir— In Our Hearts and Minds
Josh Muir— In Our Hearts and Minds

Celebrating the work and life of artist Josh Muir.

When Beauty Becomes the Beast: Meet the Artists Behind Selfcare_4eva_2001
When Beauty Becomes the Beast: Meet the Artists Behind Selfcare_4eva_2001

Wellness is about much more than not being sick— it’s a trillion-dollar industry.

MENTAL Exhibition Podcast Episodes
MENTAL Exhibition Podcast Episodes

In 2020, Journalism students from the University of Melbourne created short audio pieces in response to our exhibition MENTAL: Head Inside.

Meet the Artists Behind MENTAL: Nwando Ebizie
Meet the Artists Behind MENTAL: Nwando Ebizie

MENTAL exhibition artist Nwando Ebizie allows her need for expression to guide her form. Among other things, she is a dancer, DJ, writer, curator, musician, composer and Afrofuturist. ‘I feel limited in the world and art is a place to let go of those kinds of boundaries’.

Meet the Artists Behind MENTAL: Casper de Jong
Meet the Artists Behind MENTAL: Casper de Jong

MENTAL exhibition artist Casper de Jong explores what connects and moves us as humans through his playful interactive work centred on the integration of technology in our lives and minds.