Stockholm Syndrome Painting by Ryan Murray

Through the unflinching medium of spray paint stenciling, I unearth and examine unsettling but important conversations about the stigma of mental illness, with the goal of normalizing the discussion and treatment of mental health in black communities. To examine Black mental health is to examine the effect of events in both the past and present, socioeconomic factors, how patterns of suffering repeat themselves, and the burden of certain societal expectations. By utilizing repeated symbolism and autobiographical elements, my work not only seeks to address the reality and the reasons that people of color suffer in silence more than their white counterparts, but urges me to navigate my own upbringing as an African-American struggling with mental illness and raised in a predominantly white community. I am currently located in Springfield, Massachusetts and I am represented by Art for the Soul Gallery.