Sarah Kasumi & Alice Hanako 2

This project is a collaboration between Alice Hanako and Sarah Kasumi; two British sisters living in Madrid, who have been inspired by their direct and indirect experiences with mental health. It is the starting point of a series of audio clips and corresponding illustrations which endeavour to contribute to the much-needed conversation about mental health and reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. Alice conducted interviews with strangers who volunteered to share their stories, they were then condensed and re-recorded. Almost all of what you hear is unedited real-life speech, simply a condensed form. The participants' words are the central part of the work, Sarah made the illustrations purely to draw focus to the narratives by giving them a physicality in the gallery setting. The project hopes to provide a voice to the remarkable diversity and complexity of everyday suffering, bringing to focus the strength and positivity that can emerge from lived experience.