How Tapping into Our Creativity and Memories can Eradicate Toxic Happiness and Improve Mental Health

Jonathan Dickson About the artist Born in Dublin, Jonathan is a Kildare based visual artist. After graduating from the National College of Art and Design in 1991 he went on to lead a successful career as a multi-award winning illustrator and designer. During 2006 he dedicated himself to further artistic development outside the design industry. Positive reaction to work created subsequently led him to make the decision to leave this career behind and commit full time to painting. Since then he has taken part in numerous solo and group exhibitions. His work is held in public, corporate and private collections in Ireland, Europe and the USA. He has also been the recipient of a number of public, corporate and private commissions. Artist statement I paint and document what I experience around me (the visceral as much as the visual) as acutely as I can. Certain places and objects I experience resonate and won’t let me go until I work through them, sometimes I know why during the process and sometimes the obsession is revealed afterwards. I’m ever increasingly aware that hindsight reveals far more about my work than anything I could ever conceive up front and I’m happy to allow this to continue (for now). Allied to this I have a deep curiosity about the nature of perception and memory (both visual and conceptual) and how it affects the subjects that call to me.