Beautiful Minds

Smears of pink, orange, yellow, purple, blue—the pops of color that light up in patients’ brain scans also adorn the walls of the Stamp Gallery. Each represents a different mental illness: dementia, ADHD, depression, bipolar disorder.

In “Neuro Blooms,” opening today and running through March 28, artist Leslie Holt uses PET scans—nuclear imaging tests that can detect diseases—of people with mental illnesses as inspiration for an artistic exploration that she hopes will reduce some of the fear or misunderstanding attached to them. 

“To me, as an artist, they’re beautiful images, but I also think they really help a conversation about the causes of mental illness and de-stigmatize some of the unfortunately still-prevalent myths about mental illness,” said Holt, who co-directs Red Dirt Studio in nearby Mount Rainier. 

Holt’s pieces on display use stitched embroidery thread and acrylic paints to emphasize the colors that show up on PET scans available online through the National Institutes of Health or various universities, which depict conglomerations or averages of a group of people with a given illness. 

Holt’s connection to the subject matter is personal—her mother was severely mentally ill, and Holt has struggled with depression. Holt’s sister, a neuroscientist, adds another perspective.

“I’m hoping that by looking at these brain images, there’s some sort of solace in science,” said Holt, who noted that college students were a particularly appropriate audience for her art. “Mental illness isn’t just a negative diagnosis—it makes you who you are.”

Click through the gallery below to read more about Holt’s work.