A new exhibition at Gold Coast Health invites patients, staff and visitors to step into the thoughtful, colourful and sometimes confronting world of mental health through art.
Diary Of An Art Therapist II: A playful exploration of mental health and wellbeing showcases the work of art therapist and illustrator Lani, (pictured above) whose detailed pencil and biro drawings transform complex psychological experiences into accessible visual narratives.
Drawing on both her professional practice and lived experience, Lani’s work explores conditions such as dementia, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and anxiety and depression, with warmth and curiosity. Using fine line work and vibrant colour, Lani’s illustrations act as visual metaphors for internal experiences that are often difficult to articulate.
Her work asks gentle but important questions: what does it feel like to live with dementia, where time and place can blur into an endless waiting room? How does trauma quietly linger in everyday suburban life? What is it like to navigate social spaces when your mind feels crowded with competing voices?
One of the exhibition’s central works, Dementia Waiting Room Loop, reflects on the disorientation experienced by people living with dementia.
“This particular artwork was inspired by the quote, ‘For dementia sufferers, all rooms are waiting rooms, and all time is waiting time.’” says Lani.
“The artwork encourages viewers to consider presence over memory, and connection over correction. Rather than asking people to orient themselves to our reality, the work invites us to meet them where they are.”
Other pieces, such as Post Traumatic Shadows in Suburbia highlights how trauma can exist beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary environments.
Alongside her clinical insights, Lani’s exhibition shares aspects of her own lived experience. Several artworks explore synaesthesia, a neurological condition in which sensory pathways cross, offering viewers a rare glimpse into this vivid inner world. For Lani, this means days, numbers and words are intrinsically linked to colour.
“To a lot of people it sounds odd, but days of the week and months all have a colour attached to them. For me, it’s a very permanent, visual and sensory sensitivity that falls on the spectrum of neurodivergent (I thought everyone was like this).”
While deeply personal, the exhibition’s overarching aim is collective: to reduce stigma, spark conversation and build understanding around mental health. By translating clinical concepts into playful, human-centred imagery, Lani’s work creates space for empathy and reflection, something that is particularly important within a healthcare setting where patients can see their own experiences reflected on the walls.
Diary Of An Art Therapist II forms part of Gold Coast Health’s Creative Health Hub exhibition program, which integrates arts into healthcare environments to support wellbeing, connection and healing. The exhibition demonstrates how visual art can act as a powerful bridge between clinical knowledge and lived experience, reminding us that creativity is not only expressive, but deeply therapeutic.
You can view the exhibition in the Gold Coast University Hospital Foyer until the end of January.
For more information about the artist, visit www.lanisarty.com
My Fears And Flaws Magnified in my Mind’s Eye
Post Traumatic Shadows in Suburbia
Dementia Waiting Room Loop
