Spotlight On CCG Members :- Miss Liz Atkin
Feb, 7 2017
~Capitalising on our personal experiences can be both humbling and extremely rewarding. When the experience, however is rooted in a mental health problem the long term outcome is both inspirational and provides much hope on those who wish to seek employment beyond their mental health dilemma. Miss Liz Atkin has done just that and she is the focus for this week’s ‘Spotlight on CCG Members’.
Liz spent over 20 years being haunted by a debilitating condition called Compulsive Skin Picking. Prior to this she had spent considerable years studying the art of dance and theatre. It seemed logical from Liz’s perspective to focus on repair and recovery through a creative outlet. Liz has developed her artistic credentials by working in London as a visual artist creating intimate artworks, photographs and performances exploring the body-focused repetitive behaviour of skin picking. She has exhibited her work in the UK, Australia, USA and Japan.
In addition to Liz’s creative flair she has also branched out into teaching visual art, set design, movement and drama to all ages from early years to adults. Her teaching domain sees her working in a series of therapeutic settings ranging from schools and galleries to prisons, hospitals and art venues. Her regular work in this area comes from Arts Depot, Half Moon Young People's Theatre, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Extant.
She practices art, she can teach and she is also a keen advocate for Compulsive Skin Picking and mental illness. She seeks to de-stigmatize CSP and other mental illnesses by a series of public talks, specialist commissions, residencies and exhibitions. This has seen her taking her work to the States such as in October 2015 when she went to California to speak to junior doctors at Keck School of Medicine.
Back home she has been a dominant figure speaking confidently at places such as Critical Voices Conference, Depression Alliance and Changing Minds at Southbank Centre.
She has also been a high profile mental health awareness advocate in media realms such as on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, Diva Magazine and Like – Minded Magazine in the Amsterdam quarter of the world.
Her exhibitions have included work for The Melbourne Skin Gallery for the Skin & Cancer Foundation ( Australia), and the PAIN exhibition in Los Angeles (USA).
She is an artist with The Bethlem Gallery a pioneering space for art and mental health in Beckenham. In the UK she has exhibited for City Arts for Institute of Mental Health, Southbank Centre and ORTUS Learning Centre.
Her most notable residence is at Northgate School in 2015. Based in Edgware Community Hospital, Northgate School specialises in the education of students suffering from mental health challenges.
Her awards range from The London Paper Self Portrait Award with The Affordable Art Fair, 2008 – 2015’s - Emerging Talent SAFTA with Southwark Arts Forum.
Last year she was announced as World Health Innovation Ambassador. She was also a speaker at the Global Conference for the Body Dysmorphia Foundation 2016, the Diversity Conference at University of Lancaster.
Her ‘Compulsive Charcoal Series’ is devised around a series of free drawings on free papers for commuters on public transport has featured on London Live, Buzzfeed, The Londonist and BBC Radio London, and the New York Subway System. This year ( 2017) she will be creating #CompulsiveCharcoal drawings on public transport in Singapore for M1 Singapore Fringe Festival for Art & Skin, alongside a series of lectures and art workshops at hospitals and universities.
We accolade all her monumental hard work and we welcome her to the CCG.
