Your Psyche? No Taboo!

No generation has taken as many photos of itself as ours, Selina Pfeil notes. Almost all of them show smiles. But what does it look like behind the facade? More and more young people around the world are suffering from mental illness. Suicide rates are also on the rise. The title of her work „Your Psyche - No Taboo“ is her call. Over the seemingly cheerful laughter, the Plauen artist puts her black colored hands, presses them on paper, pulls them away, lets them reach into the void. Black hands everywhere - dark, mute - symbol of a cry for help that cannot articulate itself. Radiant on the outside, empty on the inside. This is a clinical picture that has entered the medical textbooks with „smiling depression“. Pressure to succeed, superficial relationships, such as those built up via social networks, and the motto „Can‘t do, won‘t do,“ lead to these consequences, according to the young artist. Thus, the most natural thing in the world, namely to talk to others about what is bothering you, becomes taboo. The inhibition to express oneself grows with the problems. You keep everything bottled up. The subjective impression arises: one is inferior. At some point, all you can see is a big black hole. It can‘t stay that way, she is sure. Finally, Selina expresses her counter-design in the color scheme. The color blue, in between discreet but clearly recognizable green components and dominant red tones are the focus. Green stands for hope and that change can grow; blue refers to lightness and feeling free; red is a sign of our inherent life energy. As soon as we get involved with each other again and are open to each other, it can be revived. Helping and accepting help becomes possible when we are interested in each other, trust each other and talk about our problems. Relief becomes perceptible.