During the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, rapper Logic performed a song raising awareness for suicide prevention. His performance induced tears but also got many…
In his spoken word poem, Kevin Kantor describes seeing his rapist being suggested under the ‘people you may know’ section on Facebook. Comparing the shock…
Based in Toronto, Canada, artist Charli Forrester experienced a period of insomnia in September 2017 and turned to drawing to occupy her mind. The next day, she…
“Autumn” is a beautiful poem by London writer Christina Rosetti (1830-1894) who is known for bringing a lively and magical quality to her works. With…
“Clumsy” by Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace is about a friend trying to reach out to someone who is engaging in self-harming behaviours. This individual excuses his self-injuries as being caused by external factors or accidents. The friend tries…
Novelist, poet, and scholar Maya Angelou expresses her deep feelings about the suffering of African Americans due to slavery and racial discrimination in her poem “Caged Bird”. She contrasts…
Singer-songwriter Sia’s 2014 hit Chandelier is darker than the upbeat melody would at first suggest. The song is inspired by hard times in the artist’s life when…
Julien Baker is an American singer-songwriter who never fails to portray raw emotion in her music. Her songs eloquently articulate her personal experiences with mental illness and substance abuse. The song “Hurt…
Born of Russian and Jewish descent, American artist Mark Rothko refused to be categorized and restrained by conventional paradigms; however, one would likely associate him with…
“Elefante” is an award-winning short film written and directed by Barcelonian producer Pablo Larcuen about a man dissatisfied with his life and dealing with a…
From a Basement on the Hill was the final album from the infamous Elliott Smith, released nearly a year after his death. Smith was an Oscar-nominated folk musician…
“Oak Fractured by Lightning” is an oil painting created by Russian landscape artist Maxim Vorobiev in 1842. Most of Vorobiev’s paintings depict peaceful sceneries including countrysides, seasides, rivers and trees. However, this…
In an article in a Canadian daily, The Globe and Mail, Oliver Moore reported that during 2016, 21 suicide attempts occurred on Toronto’s subway system….
From Brisbane, Australia, self-taught artist Glenn Brady mesmerizes viewers with his dark and eerie paintings. Turning Blue is no exception. Brady uses blueish hues to portray…
The lyrics in the song “The Drugs” by Mother Mother describe the extensive impact that addiction can have on an individual and the cumulative toll that drug-dependency can have…
Jackson Pollock was an American painter who suffered from bipolar disorder and alcoholism for most of his life. Pollock founded the Abstract Expressionist Movement introducing a dramatic new style of painting referred to as…
Instagram has become a platform that enables and expands the careers of “social media influencers,” individuals who are the face of advertisements for many companies and…
Eric Clapton’s song “Tears in Heaven” could possibly be the saddest song ever written about losing a loved one. Dealing with the loss of his four-year-old son who fell from the…
One of Vincent van Gogh’s masterpieces, “The Potato Eaters” serves as a gritty snapshot of a peasant family struggling to survive in the Netherlands during…
Christa Marie’s poem “Broken Stairs” tells the story of a young girl’s fight with depression. The poem speaks of “monsters in her mind” which can be interpreted as representing her mental illness, her thoughts, and the lies…
