Abstract Peaces is a visual diary of a subject at different stages of their depression. The work aims to destigmatize mental illness within the black community. The majority of the images are self-portraiture and have helped me come to terms with my battle with bipolar and social anxiety.

People that live with mental conditions CAN live good and happy lives, the world around them makes them believe they are different, the wrong kind of different. Their minds just tick differently but that does not make them crazy. The world around us is often laid to waste by the sane, men in suits and ties and cooperations hiding behind tall skyscrapers - but the bad guys are the ones that are sedated and institutionalized for a beautiful mind.

My take on depression in Abstract Peaces is that of going to places I hated the most about myself to find something beautiful, and I think I did. In the dark our minds are left to their own devices, forced to replicate images of the repressed subconscious, our fears mostly, but I chose to see something different and I hope you do too.

- Tsoku Maela