smart | entrepreneurs Artist promotes discourse about mental


illness with Lossy: Specters of Schizophrenia Benj Funk’s audiovisual art project draws on his personal journey with mental illness


stimulate discussion.” His most personal project to date, Lossy involves audio-


“I


visual expression as well as a personal blog invoking what his reality has been dealing with schizophrenia. “I am trying to give insight into what it was for me,” he


says. “I think it’s been the project where I’ve been most honest.” Never shying away from sharing his struggles, Funk’s


first solo exhibit at Artbeat Studio drew on his battle with drug addiction and psychosis, but with his evolution in stability, he now feels ready to address his mental illness head-on as a subject matter. “It just takes time to not judge yourself, I guess,” explains


Funk. “Te whole thing with stigma is it’s two-sided. You internalize that and you project that on yourself too.” Funk feels the dialogue has become less judgmental


regarding mental health in the media and elsewhere – but the most welcoming community he’s found has been on Tumblr, the host of his blog. “I’m making connections with people and people are reaching out,” says Funk. “Te amount of support – it’s not surprising, but it is eye- opening.” When his exhibit opens Sept. 10 at La Maison des artistes


visuels francophones, the immersive exhibit will feature (barring no interruptions) about eight to 12 paintings and his album of roughly the same number of electronic songs – plus, Funk plans to have a panel discussion engaging the public about mental health. For his part, Funk is holding nothing back, blogging


“It’s not very often that a conversation will centre around mental health,” observes multidisciplinary artist Benj Funk. “Te goal (with Lossy) was just to


so much you can say with a painting,” reasons Funk. Te exercise in treating his illness as a subject has also


allowed him to delve deeper into neuroscience research, sharing some of the more momentous medical break- throughs through his blog and helping educate followers along with him. Funk hopes his project will establish solidarity with


others fighting a mental illness – a recent Ipsos Reid poll revealed 53 per cent of young people are dealing with de- pression and other mental wellbeing concerns – and it’s powerful to gain insight from someone articulating their own journey. Te artist expects to continue in the vein of socially-


conscious work like Lossy with upcoming projects. “I’ve kind of reignited a passion for advocacy,” he says. While he has learned to manage his illness, his medica-


tion is not without its side effects – and it’s not foolproof. “Te meds for me take care of 99 per cent of the symptoms,” he shares. “You’ll (still) hear a voice that you know isn’t in the space… I’ve learned how to take on those little battles.” Perhaps the most poignant representation of his progress


Artist Benj Funk calls Lossy his most personal project to date.


stories related to the shame and embarrassment he felt dur- ing his addiction (which prompted aggression), and giving vivid accounts of some of his hallucinations. He shows talent for wielding the smaller stroke of a pen, and courage unveiling personal narratives. “Tere’s only


Robb Nash tore up a record


deal to deliver message to kids Musician finds touring through schools and enticing camaraderie more rewarding than rock-star life


P


art musician, part comedian and part philosopher, Robb Nash has a knack for cutting through the stuff that doesn’t


matter in life, and getting to the heart of things. And while he took this direction after


surviving a life-threatening car accident, he doesn’t run around chiding things like “eve- rything happens for a reason” and claiming that the accident was a blessing in disguise. In fact, one of the major reasons he tours


through schools instead of sold-out arenas is to share this wisdom with kids. “Things don’t happen for a reason, but


things happen with potential,” says Nash to the crowd at John Henderson Junior High School. “It’s not automatic – you’ve got to make it happen.” Nash’s approachable, guy-next-door


prophecies visibly resonate with students and even the adults who attend his shows – his messages easy to chew on. Tere’s no two ways about it for him: getting


into an accident which completely altered his life, even leaving him temporarily dead on the scene, sent him into a downward spiral. He started hearing voices that told him he was “useless,” that there was no reason for him now. Luckily, something compelled him to track


down the driver of the semi-truck who col- lided with him that day, to tell him that he was alive. It turned out the driver was haunted by the incident, though it was no fault of his own, and Nash felt good about lifting his spirits. Since then, he’s been able to make a living


achieving that feeling through his work with the Robb Nash Project. His primary motiva- tion is to help students going through a hard time see a way through it – and 317 suicide notes intended for use have been turned in to him since he started. “If pain doesn’t go away, neither does the strength,” reminds Nash. These impactful words, combined with


songs with messages about taking things one day at a time, has inspired hashtags, tattoos, and an incredible amount of suicide preven- tion in schools. His formula of relating to students through


impressions of "Family Guy" characters and Adam Sandler’s singing style – plus live performances by him and his rock outfit punctuated by personal stories – puts him in the perfect position to be impactful to students. He wins their admiration but also


July 2015


dealing with mental illness is his painting of a moon with six eyes hovering over a depiction of himself as he appeared just before he was hospitalized. “It physically separates where I was then and where I am now,” says Funk. “It’s almost like looking at your kid and thinking, ‘Tings will get better.’” Funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba


Arts Council and 100 Nons, Lossy will culminate in a solo art exhibit at the artist-run La Maison des artistes visuels francophones beginning Sept. 10. Visit lossy.benjfunk.com to follow Funk’s blog entries and the project’s progress.


Robb Nash delivers positive messages to youth.


makes students comfortable coming right up to him to reveal secrets they’ve never shared with anyone. For the reluctant listeners, he makes con-


cessions, acknowledging he’s not a therapist and his way is not necessarily “right,” but he willfully offers practical tips he’s learned about navigating teenage life and life in gen- eral in uncertain times. Nash remembers what is was like to be


17 and have all sorts of questions hurled at him about his future – with certain options removed because he wasn’t able to complete school on time and was no longer physically able to compete as an athlete. Find out your “why”


What started to work for him was tracing


the “why” in situations – or figuring out what motivated him to act in a productive way. For him, he realized the “why” when it


came to sharing his music was most impor- tant, so he ripped up his record deal and started touring through schools to speak about his experience. Anyone who really makes a difference, “it’s about why they did it – it’s not about what they did,” explains Nash. Perhaps the most powerful thing Nash


facilitates is connecting the room, uniting classmates to stick up for each other and help make life a little easier on one another. Tough students who experience depres-


sion or anxiety likely feel burdened by it, Nash calls it a gift: “We hurt deeply, but we can see others when they’re hurting… Someone else needs your story.”


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