A Look Inside The Mind Of Donna Lawrence

Donna Lawrence and Dr Paul Henderson. Photo supplied: Donna Lawrence

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Donna Lawrence shared a personal side of her life through art, when her exhibition opened at the Whitsunday Sailing Club on Saturday 3rd October.

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Held as part of Mental Health Week, the free community opening began at 3pm and introduced work exploring Donna’s lived experience with bipolar disorder.

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“I was really, really pleased with the turnout,” Donna said.

“A lot of people came that I didn’t even know. So that was really fantastic.”

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The nationally recognised visual artist used her work to express emotions and experiences that can be difficult to explain in conversation, offering a window into life with mental health challenges.

“My work actually aims to describe emotions or moods that occur … from day to day, you know, ups and downs and everything in between,” Donna said.  

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The exhibition invited people to spend time with those experiences, consider another perspective and begin conversations of their own.

While the artwork was central to the afternoon, the opening allowed people to meet Donna and learn first-hand about the personal journey behind her creative practice. Her willingness to share that part of her life gave the exhibition a purpose beyond displaying her work.  

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Visitors on Saturday night were also treated to a talk by Mackay psychiatrist Dr Paul Henderson, who helped support the event’s focus on mental health awareness.

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“The speech by Paul Henderson was just beautiful, it made a lot of people cry,” Donna said.

The exhibit will remain up in the Sailing Club till Monday 12th October.  

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