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Internationally-acclaimed artist Mackenzie Thorpe, whose work adorns the walls of Buckingham Palace in his native home country, is set to collaborate with Eiko Todo, founder of The Edge, Japan’s Dyslexic society, to host a series of workshops with children illustrating the power of art as a form of therapy.
Thorpe, who has worked in partnership with Todo over the last decade, has been invited back to work with The Edge to host a series of workshops in Okinawa and Fujisawa. An exhibition featuring Thorpe’s work will run through June 30 at Gallery Enatsu, where the artist has previously exhibited, as well as in Fujisawa (June 21-23).
Following the events, proceeds will be donated to the Association of Parents with handicapped children in Okinawa and the House of Sun (handicapped children in Fujisawa) respectively.
Thorpe has dedicated much of his career supporting various charities and continues to work with children globally including actively supporting those affected by the disastrous events of the tsunami in 2011.
Thorpe said: “I have been holding workshops with Japanese children for more than 10 years. I am always amazed by the creativity of the children, who are so respectful and imaginative they are themselves an inspiration.”
Thorpe, whose art is highly emotive, touching on his own personal experiences in his childhood, often depicting the shared struggles and triumphs of humanity, hopes to continue to use his craft by supporting good causes which improve the lives of others and communities as a whole.
© Japan Today
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Jim Poushinsky
Art is an excellent medium for both children and adults to connect with the dissociated elements of traumatic experiences that continue to cause post traumatic stress until brought into consciousness and finally understood.
The technique I developed for doing this begins with the suggestion that whatever is drawn be for a healing purpose. The person then draws whatever comes to mind. When finished, they look at the art and describe it in words. This story is written down and kept with the art.
Over a series of such art & story sessions the trauma survivors will recognize themes in their work which come together into the missing pieces of the traumatic experiences they have been suffering. When this abreaction happens, the survivor understands that the traumatic event is finished, and body and mind turn off the state of emergency they have been stuck in ever since. That is the healing process that art can assist with, if done in a safe place with understanding helpers.