Page 3 - The Final Exam Book - NO GRID 25:03:24

When the exam paper was handed out several of the prompts spoke to me. I considered studying the ‘unseen’ people of the world, I considered studying how ‘music’ a!ects our lives, but in the end I was drawn to ‘issues and concerns’.
Issues and concerns’ spoke to me because I knew that a prompt like that would allow me to cover some potentially controversial topics in a way that connects us in society. After much deliberation I settled on the issue of depression. Depression and mental health is an issue that has a!ected many people and that has impacted the local community greatly. In the past 18 month 2 young men have taken their lives at a local school, and I personally know of other people who have su!ered with mental health issues. Some to the point of suicide. For one to be in such a mental state that the only option that you can see is to take your own life is such a desperate and sensitive topic. I think because of that, many people are afraid to take it on and talk about it. However it is an issue that a!ects many people, as, according to the World Health Organisation more than 700,000 people die due to suicide every year and suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for 15-29 year olds.
These numbers just reinforce how common this is, and unfortunately, the topic of mental health, depression and suicide isn’t spoken about enough. I have taken real life stories, from various sources to frame the discussion and give focus to my pictures. The main aim of this project was to portray the idea that people can be around you, sat next to you, at parties with you, in class with you and you may never know that they are struggling with things because of “The masks we wear”
I’m aware of the severity of this topic and so this project was done in the most sensitive way, while also conveying the message of the ‘Issue and concern’ surrounding mental health and depression.