She wrote a path-breaking book ‘Fallen Standing: My Life As A Schizophrenist’ which covers the first part of her story of life that led to her schizophrenia. Now for the first time, she exhibits her works of art which have been largely influenced by the voices she hears and what they have come to mean to her. Reshma Valliappan is a multi-dimensional personality, the founder and director of The Red Door, an Ashoka, Ink and CAMH Fellow, as well as the protagonist of ‘A Drop of Sunshine’, a multi-award winning documentary.
Reshma Valliappan’s battle with mental illness began at the age of twenty-two, when she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. However, her story begins much prior to the diagnosis which shaped her life into what it is today. “The exhibition is based on the visual hallucinations that have dominated a large part of my life,” she says, adding: “Whilst the book told the story of what society would understand and relate in terms of life experiences, my art work serves as a visual insight into a spiritual awakening in every life experience I have had and come to have before and after my schizophrenia.”
Determined to change the system and governmental restrictions – against her freedom to vote, travel, choose their own path towards recovery, access to educational and occupational opportunity, and so on – Reshma has delivered TEDx talks, conducted workshops, written an autobiographical account of her life in her unabashed and pioneering book Fallen, Standing, and featured in the Public Service Broadcasting Trust documentary about her journey A Drop of Sunshine along with her family and psychiatrist.
During the course of the show, the artist will curate workshops and interactive sessions using a variety of performance techniques and art expressions with the intention of helping participants to undergo a cathartic understanding of her experiences.The inauguration of the exhibition will be accompanied by a contemporary Kathak piece featuring Vidyashree Rai.
When: Inauguration – June 17, 6:30 pm Exhibition – June 17-25, 10 am-6:30 pm
Where: Gyaan Adab Centre, Kalyani Nagar
- This Is The Time To Hit Pune’s Shake Bars - August 25, 2019
- For The Love Of Jazz - December 12, 2018
- What’s Age Got To Do With It - December 5, 2018
