Vivify Project
The Vivify project involved participants meeting to create artwork inspired by their visits to exhibitions at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The participants were people accessing Wakefield Older People Services who were experiencing mental health issues such as dementia. Exhibitions on show at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and their own memories, thoughts and feelings were the main sources of inspiration for the participants.Wooden Dream Houses
Wooden dream houses came from the theme of vivify one, ‘home’. The participants drew the shape of their home, then two artists helped them create their ‘dream house’ out of wooden pieces.
Image Description:
Exhibition photo of ‘Wooden Dream Houses’ displayed on a white plinth placed on a grey floor within the White Column space. The sculpture depicts the front of a house, made from rough grained timber, jig sawed pieced together leaving gaps for delicate pen drawings of domestic scenes or pieces of furniture for example a bed. There are five of these gaps strategically placed like windows two on the left and two on the right, one on top of each other and then one in the attic area of the house, each with a drawing and covered with a protruding paper hinged wooden door giving it the ability to be opened. Also, a piece of wood is used to mimic the door of the house, that protrudes like the others, this however does not have a hinge. On each of these doors there are different sentences, like ‘I get up in the morning, that’s the best thing’, ‘I’m always happy, no use being sad’ and ‘Cock-a Doodle Quack’. In the centre in-between the windows and door is a plaster of Paris floorplan or house plan resembling a map or x-ray of a building, with ten small square foundation shapes and six circles. The back of the sculpture is plain wood and with a timber post attached in the middle to support displaying.
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Organisation:
The Mental Health Museum is home to an extraordinary collection of objects and stories that explore mental health care history and the experience of mental health conditions. It was first opened in 1974 and displayed objects from the West Riding Asylums at Wakefield, Huddersfield, Leeds and Sheffield. We continue to add to these collections today.
The museum is a space for broader debates around mental health care and aims to promote wellbeing, combat mental health stigma, and be active in social justice. We invite everyone to get involved in creating this space.
The Mental Health Museum is free to visit and open to everyone on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 1-4pm. Find us at Fieldhead Hospital, Wakefield, WF1 3SP. You can get in touch with staff by calling 01924 316360 or email us at museum@swyt.nhs.uk.
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