Art exhibition brings mental health stories to life at Gold Coast University Hospital
15 Jan 2026
Drawing on both her clinical work and personal experience, Lani explores conditions including dementia, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety and depression. Her finely detailed pencil and biro illustrations, combined with vibrant colour, use visual metaphor to express inner experiences that can be difficult to put into words.
The exhibition invites viewers to reflect on what it feels like to live with conditions that affect perception, memory and identity. One of the central works, Dementia Waiting Room Loop, captures the sense of disorientation experienced by people living with dementia.
“Lani explained that for people living with dementia, every space can feel like a waiting room and time itself can feel endlessly suspended.”
“The work encourages presence over memory, and connection over correction, inviting us to meet people where they are.”
Other pieces, including Post Traumatic Shadows in Suburbia, explore how trauma can exist beneath the surface of everyday life. The exhibition also features works inspired by Lani’s experience of synaesthesia, a neurological condition where senses overlap, giving viewers insight into a richly coloured internal world.
While deeply personal, the exhibition aims to reduce stigma and encourage understanding by translating clinical ideas into playful, human-centred imagery. Displayed in a healthcare setting, the works allow patients, families and staff to see their own experiences reflected through art.
Diary Of An Art Therapist II is part of Gold Coast Health’s Creative Health Hub program, which integrates art into hospital spaces to support wellbeing and healing. The exhibition is on display in the Gold Coast University Hospital Foyer until the end of January.
https://www.goldcoast.health.qld.gov.au/
Source: Gold Coast Health – Creative Health Hub
