Why Mark Kellett was Out of His Mind - how this Portsmouth artist uses his work to explore mental health issues

Mark, 44, laid himself bare with the show – Out of My Mind – which took visitors through his life and the mental health troubles he’s experienced.

Acting almost as a diary, the artworks featured bold paintings and sculptures, which cut through the gloom with neon paint – taking you through key moments in the artist’s life – including his two breakdowns.

Explaining the idea behind the show, which was put together with the support of mental health charity Mind, Mark says: “I got to the age of 43, when I decided to do the exhibition, and I just wanted to share my experiences of what I've been through, rather than in the past just making lots of pictures that look pretty and cool.

“I wanted to tell my story, but also visually show a timeline of my life. For example some of the paintings have tried to be overpowering and make people feel like they're being watched.

"I wanted to share the experiences and I hope that it pushes other people to talk about things more.

"I'm like an open book now if people have come to the exhibition – they know everything!

"Even my friend who came to the exhibition said: ‘I just thought you were a bit depressed now and again, I didn't realise you had all of those issues and you've kind of overcome them somewhat’.

“But there's reasons why I've had mental illness. There were things that have happened to me in the past that I've really bottled up.

“All of those things were suppressed, and like most men I find it hard to show emotion.”

While he has obviously seen medical professionals, Mark has never been given a formal diagnosis for his mental illness, but adds that it has “traits of bipolar and mania and episodes of psychosis.”

His first major episode happened when Mark went on a ‘lads’ holiday to Kavos on Corfu in his late teens.

“My friends had to bring me back a week early. It was my first holiday abroad. I didn't really go abroad with my family, and didn't look after myself, didn't eat properly.

"I just thought I was invincible and could get away with drinking alcohol and whatever, and ended up in the bushes behind one of the swimming pools.

"I was totally paranoid about people around me – and our rooms did get ransacked at one point looking for our passports, which didn’t help, so it was all a bit scary.”

It took him the best part of a year to get back on an even keel after that episode. When he was finally able to see a psychiatrist and get the right medication to help him sleep, he was “levelled out.”

The next episode, which took a form of mania, happened about a decade later – during his honeymoon.

Mark had completed a fine art degree, but had then gone into work as a builder which left him unfulfilled creatively and unhappy with the way his life was going.

"I wasn't very creative for a long, long time, and deep down, I knew I wasn't very happy in the relationship. We kind of got married to try and fix that.

"Then on the honeymoon, there was just a massive outburst of creativity.

“I filled a whole sketchbook up in the space of a few days, just full of rubbish, full of ideas and things I was listening to at the time, music and football-related things. It was pretty crazy.”

“Unfortunately that marked the beginning of the end of the relationship.

Turning his life around

Fortunately Mark was able to turn things around, is now happily remarried with two children and oversees the fine art A-level course at Havant and South Downs College.

Mark, who now lives in Fareham, was originally more of a “traditional” artist.

"I used to paint with oils in a traditional way and paint portraits. I've done a lot of stuff for Pompey,” he’s being modest – he was the official club artist, “I've done portraits of Alan Knight and there's some of my work in the lounges still in the club.

“But I get bored very easily. I like to mix the styles up and what I'm using and started to get into painting bigger and doing street art and that sort of thing.”

It was during lockdown that he started experimenting with spray paint and larger scale pieces. And then through his involvement with We Shine, the city’s illuminated art festival, he began to use the neon paint which is now a regular feature of his distinctive works.

He has also taken part in both Look Up Portsmouth street art festivals – this year he created a piece in Waterloo Street, Southsea.

For Out of My Mind, he’s worked with Havant and East Hants Mind.

“I just got in contact with them and said: ‘I'm planning this exhibition,’ and they were really supportive. We had talks and I asked them what ways can they help me with it?

"They suggested about doing a little podcast, which we did. And I told them that I want to raise money and do other things as well. I’m thinking of doing a bit of a tour around the country to Mind charity shops, for example, and then doing like little paint murals or something in different cities – just to do something publicly like that and to raise awareness a little bit more.”

Learn more and see more

For more about Havant and East Hants Mind, go to easthantsmind.org.

To see more of Mark’s artwork, check out: markkellettart.com, and on Instagram.

He will be taking part in this year’s We Shine Portsmouth which runs from November 21-23, based at Hilsea Lido. For more, go to: weshineportsmouth.co.uk.

He also runs Pop-up Spray Studios with his wife, which offers children the chance to try spray painting. They run monthly sessions at Pitt Street Skate Park, and other locations. Go to popupspraystudios.simplybook.it.