Tamar Whyte

Tamar Whyte was left to look after her youngest brother after the death of her mother and grandmother. When she suffered a breakdown, her art became very important in overcoming depression and is now part of an exhibition in Birmingham. This report comes from BBC Birmingham:

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That was in 2004 and Tamar says that at the time, she was finding it hard to cope. She says that trying to keep her art and her life separate created a big mental block and as a result, she was reduced to simply scribbling lots of writing in her sketchbook. But after some time recuperating, Tamar's work began to flow again and she's back with more art projects than ever!

She's studying at university and working part-time but her main love is exhibiting her art. It's on show at the Chameleon Gallery in Walsall, Birmingham as part of an exhibition called "Mindful States" which aims to convey the life experiences of each artist as well as their state of mental health.

Tamar says that when she was in such a state that she couldn't communicate with people, the only thing she could talk about was her art and that was the only time that she was coherent. Tamar says her art is her way of coping and carrying on and that it's probably hugely cathartic.

Listen to the words

a coma
a deep state of unconsciousness that's caused by an accident or illness and a person cannot be woken from it; during that time, they require medical attention

passed away
died

a breakdown
a time of mental illness when the mind fails to work normally; also known as a 'nervous' breakdown

hard to cope
difficult to manage, unable to live easily because of problems

mental block
an inabillity to work, usually on creative ideas

scribbling
writing or drawing which is done quickly and carelessly and is very difficult to understand or make sense of

recuperating
getting better after an illness

coherent
understandable, clear, using carefully considered words and ideas

carrying on
continuing with life

hugely cathartic
something that is extremely helpful for getting better is 'cathartic'; here, art helps to release strong emotions so that there's a better understanding of them

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