A chat with the healing-art expert

Having spent more than 15 years working in the public service field and community affairs sector, Venezuelan healing-art artist based in Abu Dhabi, Wilma Burton finally got the opportunity to specialize in the form of art that she has gained much inspiration from and is displayed in all her artworks – ‘Healing Art’.

Wilma Burton, Venezuelan healing-art artist

Here is what the budding artist had to say…

Q) How would you define Healing Art?

A) Healing Art according to me is a type of art that encourages the process of healing and the well being of a person, whether it is physical, mental or emotional. This is achieved as it alters a person’s physiology and attitude. Similarly by using healing art, people on the whole can benefit from a painting by getting inspired and experiencing positive emotions such as hope, peace, happiness, and harmony, among others.

In hospitals and healthcare facilities, healing art has been used to ease the mind of those who consider hospital settings being traumatic. According to the research conducted by experts in the field, this can be changed since in all sorts of unexpected ways, displaying art in hospitals has significantly proven to be beneficial. Drawing from my personal experience, I have witnessed patients who are surrounded by this kind of art display a decrease in their length of stay at hospitals, there is also a decrease the need for pain relief, lower blood pressure, and better the immune system.

Q) What is the process you undertake when creating healing art?

A) Healing Art has to be done the right way; you have to be able to incorporate vivid paintings with compositions that the mind associates with goodness, along with images of landscapes, friendly faces, and familiar objects to create a positive distraction for patients. Abstract paintings on the other hand seem to have the opposite effect on patients. In my work I use a lot of images of nature since I believe that nature is a universal symbol and is appealing to most people. I think most of us love flowers, rainbows and the ocean etc.

Artwork titled, 'Flowers in Harmony', by Wilma Burton

Even colours play a chief role in the construction of Healing Art because each colour possesses a different healing property. Colours act as powerful communication tools that are not only used by artists, but also by interior designers. We have some colours that are favorable for positivity and then there are others that can generate negative emotions. For instance, I use blue and green in some of my paintings because they tend to have a calming effect on the mind, whilst red has an energizing quality that can help with better blood circulation, and pink can heal grief and sadness.

Besides using colours and the right composition, I try to make my art that displays a sensation of being sucked into it, allowing oneself to escape in the imagery and relieve their sufferings, whether it is of a landscape where ones imagination can run free or a tranquil place where there is peace and quiet.

Q) Have you ever healed anyone through art?

A) Yes, some people who visit my studio, and are suffering from stress, anxiety or depression have found solace after viewing my artwork. So according to each particular case I create an appropriate painting that would produce or transmit the healing effect they need in order to improve and address a specific condition.

An interesting fact, worth mentioning is that some of my collectors take back my artwork to hang it in their bedrooms, the reason being that they want it to be the first thing they see when they wake up every morning, and the last thing they see when before going to bed. I understand that my art represents a sense of having a window to nature that makes people happy.

Artwork titled, 'My Garden Window', by Wilma Burton

Q) Why is the medium of ‘art’ good for healing the soul?

A) Art is the food for our soul and hence it is special. In this case, I would incorporate images that bear an innate spiritual significance such as hummingbirds. These birds are symbolic for resurrection, creatures that open the heart and show people to relish the magic of being alive. Even butterflies are a perfect symbol of transformation and faith, inspiring hope in us to undergo transitions and look forward for new beginnings. Peacocks as well are symbolic of renewal and its feathers have been used for thousands of years for healing purposes across many cultures. They are said to carry spiritual healing energy that can help people to attain a sense of balance and harmony in their lives.

Along with the composition, colour also plays a key role in healing the soul. For example, purple is a colour of transformation that inspires spiritual insights and renewal.

Wilma Burton is a thriving artist in the region and recently had her work displayed at the Etihad Modern Art Gallery for their Ramadan Art Souq.

Burton's exhibition at the Etihad Mordern Art Gallery

Healing with art

To touch art is to touch the mind and to touch the mind is to touch a life. The ‘healing-art’ movement that was introduced only recently in the emirate, during the holy month of Ramadan believes that art capacitates the power to speak to the soul and can create a positive distraction for ailing patients if integrated in hospitals. Hence, as part of the citywide beautification project signed under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, that will be in motion till the next year, will be inviting resident artists to paint vibrant murals on hospital walls and ceilings, across the region.

Artwork by Wilma Burton, healing-art specialist

The idea of incorporating healing-art in hospitals is not a fallacy that has been generated from half-baked research, in fact there has been extensive research directed towards verifying the effect that art can exert on sickly patients. According to a research conducted by authors Roger S Ulrich and Laura Gilpin in 2003, it has been effectively proven that feeling an altered state of mind through art integrated in hospital walls and ceilings is possible. The conclusion of their research was in the favour of using “healing-art” as a positive distraction for suffering patients.

Based on another research conducted by a team at the University of Bari in Italy in 2008 verified a link between exposure to a pleasing environment and pain management which highlighted the wonders that art can elude by simply being part of the surrounding and relieving stress and pain.

The walls of a Children's Hospital in Los Angeles by artist, Dave Muller 

There was also a study conducted between 2009 to 2010 by Upali Nanda, the director of research at American Art Resources that focused on the influence visual art can have on the waiting behavior of people in a hospital’s emergency department and found a decline in out-of-seat behavior, incessant front-desk queries and overall edginess displayed by awaiting patients or their family members. Hence, many hospitals in the west use nature images in the waiting area as a means of creating a calming effect on the minds of people.

Healing-art inspired wall mural in the waiting area of a hospital

Wilma Burton, a Venezuelan healing-art artist based in Abu Dhabi, as well conducted her personal research on the effect of art and the various colors and motifs used in paintings or murals on people during her experience at a US hospital where the walls were painted with vivacious scenery. She remarks, “I was suffering from a medical issue 10 years ago and went through a lot of tests. I remember spending a lot of time in the hospital, which was intimidating. But there was a mural on the ceiling that transported my mind and instead of concentrating on the machines around me; I stared at the painted bougainvillea and sky. It took away a lot of the stress”.

Artwork by Wilma Burton, healing-art specialist

According to Burton using images from nature is the best way to soothe people’s pain and relax their minds, images of things that people can associate with hope and goodness. She mentions painting images of butterflies whose symbolism can be identified with by everyone. Patients going through chemo especially can relate with a butterfly as it transforms from an ugly cocoon into something exceptionally beautiful. Such images can serve as healthy and positive reinforcements.

The art of healing at UCSF Medical Centre at Mission Bay

Burton, who served on the board of the American Cancer Society, also prefers painting a rainbow as a symbol for encouragement during sufferings, and images of a tiger or lion to convey a sign of strength. She sometimes also creates paintings that are more whimsical to appeal to the child within every person.

Beautifying Dubai with art

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls, standing by these words of exemplary artist, Pablo Picasso, this year will witness the implementation of a citywide beautification project signed under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai that has been developed keeping in mind the welfare of the emirate’s artists, residents, and visitors alike.

New look of the Dubai Metro after the citywide beautification initiative will be implemented

The world is but a canvas to our imagination and hence the ruler of Dubai has gone to great lengths yet again for benefiting his people by focusing extensive amounts of resources towards beautifying the emirate and divulging its inhabitants into ethnic, vivacious, and at the same time scenic images and installations.

According to Wilma Burton, a Venezuelan healing-art artist based in Abu Dhabi, this is an excellent opportunity to embrace art and adds, “The initiative supports the arts and, at the same time, exposes the public to what is attractive and pleasing to the eye.”

There is a very pragmatic theory behind the concept of ‘healing-art’ that was introduced only recently in the emirate, during the holy month of Ramadan. According to its proponents, colors play a major role in everyday life, for instance, when driving through a tunnel that is coated with cool colors such as blue or green it can create a soothing effect on the minds of people, whilst displaying colors like red or violet showcased through paintings or just planted flowers near a metro station for example, can do well to boost energy levels of commuters. Also showcasing paintings or sculptures that bear cultural references can fortify and promote local heritage.

Burton remarks that in the media-saturated, fast-paced world of today, people have no time to indulge themselves into the creative realm and therefore working towards the beautification of the city by integrating art will stimulate the residents and promote an optimistic vibe throughout the region. She states, “Even for people who do not have the time or cannot afford to go to a museum or exhibition to see a painting, they’ll be able to enjoy this.”

Revamping six metro stations into art galleries

The funding directed towards this massive beautification project is an exorbitant amount of Dh184-million that will commence with converting six metro stations into inspiring art galleries, and brightening bridges and underpasses with murals painted by the talented artists residing in the emirate, which will pose as a great opportunity to exhibit and promote local talent. They will also be invited to create installations, sculptures and street art that will be donned at all the trendy spots across the emirate. The project is set to be completed by 2015.

The idea of donning public places like stations, parks, hospitals and business areas with invigorating representations of art dates back to the 18th century and many countries in Europe and the United States have already implemented this practice. Burton states that several of her paintings have been converted into banners to don the streets of California and she is excited about this trend finally catching on in the UAE.

Revamping six metro stations into art galleries

Drawdeck - the one-stop hub for all artists and enthusiasts

Dubai continually strives to get more people involved in the art scene and in a way help them embrace art that gives them the ability to express themselves creatively, because art has a way to touch the soul. And that is what led to the creation of Drawdeck, a prime Dubai-based online community that extends a platform for local artists to exhibit their artworks to an extensive audience.

With its rapidly escalating popularity in the region, Drawdeck has launched an interesting new series for selling limited-edition artworks created by prominent local artists and is called, “50/Collection”. So this is a great medium through which you can start your first art collection and explore deeper into the work of budding artistic talent present in the UAE

Drawdeck's new series, "50/Collection"

The series is a well thought out project and has Drawdeck teaming up with a diverse array of exquisite, emerging as well as established artists to provide the audience with limited-edition creations that represent their exclusive work. The theme of the series is such that every other month, an artist’s work will be featured on the website by displaying their piece and making only 50 prints available for the audience to purchase, which is where the concept of ‘limited-edition’ comes into play.

The initiative kicked off at the start of December and the first artist to be featured was renowned Iraqi artist, Marwan “Myneandyours” Shakarchi, popular for his cloud symbol. For the series opening, Shakarchi provided a fine piece titled, ‘We Bleed As One’.

Marwan Shakarchi's piece for Drawdeck, 'We Bleed As One'

David Hammond, the co-founder of Drawdeck expressed, “We met Marwan on several occasions and love the passion he has for his work and the underlying messages in his pieces. He’s an artist who is making a name for himself in this region and we couldn’t be happier with the final piece he has produced for Drawdeck,”

The rapidly emerging on-line website dedicated to art

Further expanding on the conception of Drawdeck, Hammond explained that it was a “passion project” instigated by him and Alex Dunn and was only launched a year back. At the time Hammond had been working as a landscape architect in Abu Dhabi while Dunn worked with an advertising firm in Dubai. When reflecting on the art scene in the Gulf region, the pair realized that the residents were not being offered with sufficient opportunities, especially aspiring artists in the region who were solely devoted to their art.

Hammond admitted, “I was always interested in art and illustration, but there were a lot of artists here who weren’t getting the attention they deserved. There were platforms already, but nothing specifically for drawing. Other than photography, almost all art starts with drawing.”

Artwork by Nikki Farquharson titled, 'Vivid Mixed Media Girls' is one of many illustrations on Drawdeck

The ideology of Drawdeck is pretty basic, to offer a platform for the creativity of budding artists in the region to flow through and get recognized. Artists have the opportunity to reach a larger audience through Drawadeck, which works as a reliable networking platform for even galleries, and organizations. Drawdeck poses as the perfect medium for anyone in the audience, possessing an inclination towards art and is eager to get their hands on exclusive and affordable art. There are options on the website that allow people to “buy”, “share”, “critique” and discover the extensive potential of creativity that persists in the region.

The website that started out as merely a portfolio website and was in its infancy just a year back has been able to attract multitudes of art critics, graphic designers, product designers, painters, illustrators, art students and enthusiasts being a first in the region and for providing an effective medium for artists who want to proliferate their work among other artists. What commenced with a measly 10 users in the first month, the number rocketed to 300 users in the span of just a year.

Artwork by Ali Gulec titled, 'Corporate Wolf' is one of many illustrations on Drawdeck

With the growing popularity of Drawdeck, and the increasing time invested by Hammond and Dunn in the website, the duo decided to quit their jobs this summer to fully commit themselves to the progress of their business. With the current status of comprising more than 400 portfolios and approximately 15,000 hits per month, the pair have turned the website into a sleeker, more professional online marketplace for users and the talent alike, providing the artists with the chance to sell their works more conveniently and securely by giving them complete power to decide the pricing, printing and framing of their artworks.

Hammond states, “This is one of the biggest regions for e-commerce and we have directed our site with that in mind. The art work is categorized under colours, content theme and size and it is really easy to use.” Apart from the online business the duo has also organized several real-time activities to promote their cause. As Dunn expresses, “The offline work we do is also really important. We have held seve­ral pop-up shops and worked hard at promoting our artists at local events. This has been important in terms of building awareness and educating our audiences.”

Cloud With A Silver Lining

Art is the yearning of a man to express himself, to exhibit elements of his personality to the world he lives in, sometimes through paintings, sometimes through writing poems or books, or even composing music. There are really a countless creative ways that a person can choose to express oneself artistically.

That is what the exquisitely talented Iraqi artist, Marwan Shakarchi has tried to do with the eccentric cartoonish image of a fluffy cloud that bears “x” marks for eyes, a symbol that is slowly gaining popularity in the art world and is starting to be viewed as synonymous with the artist himself.

Marwan Shakarchi with his 'cloud'

Shakarchi had his head in the clouds since childhood when he used to spend hours doodling different renditions of a cloud on the wall in his family home in London, where he was born and raised by his Iraqi parents. What Shakarchi did not know then was that the mere cloud sketches he drew, as a kid, would later transform into an expression of his artistic talent, a symbol that would highlight his work in the image-saturated world that we live in.

Marwan's trademark 'cloud' symbol 

So during the time he spent a summer in Los Angeles working as an intern in the studio of Shepard Fairey, an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, and activist, better known for his artwork of Barack Obama’s “Hope” poster for his 2008 election campaign, Shakarchi tweaked the doodle of the cloud symbol further to achieve what is now being featured on stickers that he hands out to friends and acquaintances, and on postcards and key rings. Whenever he visits a new place he finds a surface to paint his cloud on, in a way leaving behind a fragment of his artistic expression.

Shakarchi's cloud on stickers

He is on a quest to universalize his cloud symbol and says, “I am interested in what you can achieve with a symbol by repetition”. And when asked about why he chose to use a cloud as a symbol of his artistic expression he said, “I think it is important that you look at your environment in an objective way instead of just accepting it – my cloud inspires you to question that. It is not directly selling you anything, it is not formally part of any system – it just exists to exist”. 

Shakarchi is otherwise also recognized by his moniker, ‘Myneandyours’, which in spite of sounding odd when introducing himself, has a purpose of making people think as to why he would choose this as his signature, and what is he trying to convey. It also reflects directly on his idea of art and how he desires to share his work with the world. He expresses, “The name started off just as ‘Myne’, because it was a personal project, something I was doing for my own release. I was creating the work for myself and it was a way to vent. But afterwards it became about my audience, so ‘yours’ is a message to them”.

One of many illustrations from Shakarchi's 'Myneandyours' collection

He only recently, which is a year back, decided to immigrate to Dubai in order to further explore his artistic streak and pursue a career in the field. Prior to his move, Shakarchi was working for his family business in London but that was not what he saw himself doing for the rest of his life. He had a flare for art and a burning passion to immerse in it solely and completely. So after moving to Dubai he took up a studio in Tashkeel where he decided to advance from the simple symbolism of tagging the cloud to giving it a denser conceptual turf. So he has currently dedicated himself to working on a fresh series of paintings that incorporate his cloud symbol with an additional female character featured as interacting with the cloud.

Shakarchi's new series of the female character interacting with the cloud

When asked about his inspiration behind this new female character he said, “Each painting is about the girl and her relationship with the cloud. Every girl that I paint is Reem.” Shakarchi has creatively integrated his art with the devotion he feels towards his wife, Reem, who has been the muse for developing the new female character, he says, “It is a comic that tells the story of our relationship, panel by panel. I want my work to have more purpose, not just random paintings of clouds”.

His new series that was displayed in Tashkeel’s group exhibition this summer has been able to magnetize the attention of a reasonably large audience who were discerning with their judgment of an image of a girl hugging the cloud, but nonetheless Shakarchi is on his way to emblazoning his brand even further as it is his way of evolving his art. His goal is to make people view the cloud as a symbol of hope and as motivation to strive towards achieving their dreams, like he did.

Marwan Shakarchi's artwork at Tashkeel

He expresses, “I think people should be concentrating on making the most of living in the moment. My signature, ‘Myneandyours’ and the cloud are supposed to help people find empowerment.”