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Mandala Exhibition at the Day Hospice

The true value of the art therapy which has come to mean so much to many of the patients at Prospect Hospice is illustrated – in every sense – by an exhibition of Mandala paintings currently on display in the Day Hospice.

Mandala

If Mandala is a new term to you, it’s a Sanskrit word which means ‘sacred circle’. The paintings are circular in design, and feature many of the important memories, recollections and themes from the lives of the painter.

Mandala’s feature in a number of different spiritual traditions and, in the Buddhist philosophy, they are used as a tool for meditation and reflection. The word itself is derived from the root ‘manda’, meaning ‘essence’, and the suffix ‘la’, which means ‘container’, and the paintings currently displayed in the Day Hospice can rightly be described as a ‘container of essence’ for each of the patients whose work is being exhibited.

Often, the names of loved family members are included in the paintings, but there are so many more features to be found in the seven mandala paintings on show. In one, there are agricultural themes surrounding an inner circle which depicts rural scenes from each of the four seasons. Elsewhere, one patient’s love of the music of Elvis Presley features strongly, while travel is the dominant theme in another. The elements drawn together in the paintings are as diverse and interesting as the lives of the artists who painted them, and the care and taken in creating the work indicates the commitment of each of the patients whose work is exhibited to an artistic means of expression.

Susie Carr, the Art Therapist at Prospect Hospice, believes that mandala can be very helpful for patients as they come to terms with an increasing sense of loss. “In art therapy sessions patients often work in groups and, through approaches such as mandala, they have an opportunity to reflect on their lives, their values and their beliefs.”

If you would like to view the exhibition, please contact Debbie Ho, Patient Services Director on 01793 816138.