“Art is a great way to overcome stuckness.”
COVER STORY: FINE ARTS ISSUE
Managing a dual career as an interdisciplinary artist and an art therapist, Bihter Yasemin Adalı recently had an exhibition titled Pantry of Good Feelings / İyi Hislerle Dolu Bir Kiler.
Bihter Yasemin Adalı RC 02
What is art psychotherapy?
Artmaking engages your creative intelligence and intuition, both of which we underutilize in our everyday living. It is difficult to get in touch with one’s creativity and intuition through speech as they involve non-linear modes of thinking; yet it is exactly because of this non-linear quality that they offer unique solutions to the challenges we are confronted with.
When an individual seeks art therapy, there is often a feeling of helplessness that accompanies the life challenge. They have made many attempts at changing their situation, but none of these strategies have helped. Art is a great way to overcome stuckness. As you get to express your troubles in ways other than talking, you untangle your mind and body from the unproductive rhetoric around your issues. It sometimes does not help to talk about them. In fact, it may be counter-productive to talk because sometimes the same words add to your burden, create boredom and disinterest.
Through creative output, you may find ways to externalize your feelings and be freed from their emotional weight. Furthermore, when you externalize your feelings - by making a sculpture of your guilt or a mask of your anger - you have the opportunity to gain insight through a different point of view.
Has RC influenced you in your career path?
At RC we took a career test. My results suggested being a dance/movement therapist, a nurse and an art educator. So, I was really pointed at the right direction.
Why was your recent exhibition titled Pantry of Good Feelings?
My work is a response to the human mind’s inherent tendency to remember and be preoccupied with negative life experiences, more than positive ones. Witnessing this as a psychotherapist led me to the idea of making a pantry of good feelings, so they are as accessible, when there is suffering and chaos.
First Vessel, 2011
