Ruth and Theo Jean Cuthand | Brain Scans/Neurotransmitting

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Ruth Cuthand, "ADHD, RCH82," 2022

glass beads, thread, backing, 11 1/4" x 11 1/4". Courtesy of the Artist.

Opening Friday, June 23 @ 7pm

Ruth and Theo Cuthand’s exhibition Brain Scans / Neurotransmitting, opening at the Nelson Museum on Friday, June 23, seeks to explore the difficulty of facing mental health challenges, and how families unite in support of one another.  

“Mental health is a big problem on reserves and there’s a lot of shame with it,” says Ruth, whose contribution to the exhibition is a series of intricately beaded reproductions of MRI scans. They illuminate the brain scans of people with ADHD, depression, PTSD, and more. (There are also some pieces from an earlier series that focus on diseases such as measles and monkeypox.) “Mental health problems run in my family, so I’m really aware of it and want to being awareness to the fact that mental health is not something to be ashamed of.”  

Ruth’s son Theo created a short film to accompany the beadwork, capturing a conversation about his latest manic episode. The film is presented from the perspective of a mother trying to care for an adult child as they experience mental illness, as well as the individual experiencing illness firsthand.