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Art competition results

Selected works

'In My Shoes' by Emma Rehn - Living with General Anxiety Disorder can be like always wearing a pair of thongs - there's a constant tension, even when you're not thinking about it, to keep those thongs on your feet. On long days, this can get incredibly tiring. And it can be hard to explain to people who have never worn thongs and don't have to concentrate on keeping their shoes on their feet. For better or worse, anxiety is often not as visible as the shoes we wear. This analogy is also a nod to walking in someone else's proverbial shoes and an acknowledgement that we don't walk alone. The artwork features details that reflect my own experiences with GAD, including the support and empathy of loved ones, and it was inspired by my own thongs-clad walks in the tropics I call home.
'Shattering Deception Revealing Truth' by Jenny Nicholls - This artwork was inspired by my experience with anxiety. Anxiety can make it hard to understand our true identity. We are not our anxiety. Our anxious thoughts and fears can influence how we see ourselves and gives us an identity that is false. This identity needs to be shattered before truth can be revealed. Then we can begin the journey of being able to interact with others with honesty and confidence without hiding behind a protective mask.
'Submerged' by Shuwethaa Prakash - Submerged is an exploration about the weight of anxiety through a digital medium. I am representing my own lived experience of the physical sensation of anxiety - the disorientation, and the feeling of being compressed by forces you cannot see. I also tried to reflect the notion of being suspended in space that can occur during an anxiety attack despite the racing thoughts.
'Cornered' by Max Jones - The smallest corner of my safest space is the only place I feel able to let go of the vigilance with comes with anxiety. I often feel fragmented and disoriented, while being hyperaware of the world around me. This artwork is a visual representation of my common experience when I'm overwhelmed and anxious.

Shortlisted works

'On the river' by Suzanne Smith - Even outside in nature anxiety can colour your experience. It's so hard to relax and enjoy life.
'Inward Churning' by Julia Norton - In Inward Churning, Julia explores the complex emotional landscape of mothering her children into adulthood, particularly her significantly autistic son.   The passing of clouds serve as a powerful metaphor for this transition of dependence to independence. The clouds represent the uncertainty and unpredictability of this transition; they shift and change reflecting feelings of joy, nostalgia, fear, and hope that accompany this letting go. Each cloud captures a moment of introspection, a memory suspended in the air, illustrating the duality of beauty and unease as children grow.  Julia begins by chaotically dripping, scribbling and scrubbing the paint before adding many layers to veil the brooding sky beneath, as we do in real life. The soft, billowing forms evoke a sense of comfort and safety, reminiscent of the nurturing embrace of a parent. Yet, these same clouds can also present a darker, more turbulent side-suggesting the weight of sadness and constant level anxiety that is always present when caring for a severely disabled child.  Here, skyscape is not a "place" but a landscape of the soul and its turmoil within. The result pulls the viewer in to reflect on their own experiences of love, separation, and the ever-changing seasons of life.
'Symbols on Patchwork Grass' by Natasha Quirk - Living with Anxiety can be a bit like trying to repeatedly piece things together - getting all the things done that need to be done, relationships, meshing the components of our varied lives and interests. Nonetheless, Living with Anxiety can produce some moments of excellence. moments of spiritual depth, periods of personal growth and some moments of pain and despair, all with the reward of knowing how hard you work to keep it all together (most of the time).
Scream - name and statement withheld
'Kitten of Outrageous Misfortune' by Helen Minns - That feeling where you are grasping at the edge of existance, the world is full of enormous machines, processes, and roadblocks. No one notices you, the smallest, least conspicuous creature, and all you need is a helping, caring hand
'Stripped Bare' by Ashlee O'Neil - This artwork shows how anxiety can strip you bare and feels as though the vulnerability of your insides are on display for the world to judge.
'(not) coping' by Max Jones - This artwork features several experiences, both physical and metaphorical, of my experience with anxiety. The static (middle section) is an embodiment of the physical visceral experience of anxiety in my body, and the hand representing the desire for help when feeling like I'm drowning. To the left is an image of driving through at night, something I do to manage anxiety or escape the situation causing it. To the right is an image of someone entering a dark room with a light on, representing both an ominous figure emerging, and someone coming to check in / help when I'm in the dark; representing the experience when support can feel like an intrusion.
It'll Get Better (2025)

After living with anxiety for several years and attempting to deal with it naturally, I decided in January 2025 to see a GP and request medication to be prescribed to me. After viewing my medical history, the GP was willing to prescribe Escitalopram. He warned me that once I began taking the pills, my anxiety would get worse before it gets better, but that I should see improvement once my body adjusts to them.
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Worse (2025)

I printed a series of three cyanotype prints using handmade barbed wire, blackberry vines and blister packs from my prescribed medication.
Improvement (2025)

Print 1 depicts the early days of taking the medication, in which I felt strange. Print 2 depicts how I felt while my body was adjusting to the medication, prickly and isolated. Print 3 depicts the positive effect the medication has had on reducing my anxiety.