By KATE BANVILLE
A SOLDIER turned artist, author and advocate is on a mission to “humanise PTSD” through compelling photographs which capture the raw experiences of veterans.
Mike Armstrong was already an accomplished artist when he embarked on a military career which spanned more than two decades, including operational deployments to East Timor, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
And while he had an intense passion for both, it wouldn’t be until after he was hospitalised for post-traumatic stress disorder that these worlds would collide for the first time.
But in trying to find an answer to exactly what the psychological injury felt like, the retired Army signals officer found his latest muse.
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“I said it’s like being encapsulated in molasses,” Armstrong said.
“It’s the slowing of my mind, it’s the slime on my body.. dragging me down.
“Heavy and dark like sticky molasses that you’re trapped in.
“And then I thought “that’s a fabulous shoot idea, I want to do that.”
And he did. Once out of hospital Armstrong shared his vision with a fellow veteran who volunteered to be the subject of this artistic expression.
The experience for those involved has been cathartic and liberating, Armstrong said.
“When you look at the series of works of an individual what you’ll see is them go through that process of entering into the darkness of their experiences and then cleansing themselves of that weight of it, and the lifting of that burden.
“And that’s the hope that I want people to walk away with – knowing that it doesn’t define you.”
Self-described as “death by a thousand cuts”, Armstrong’s PTSD diagnosis in 2020 came as a complete surprise to him.
Upon reflection he now attributes it to 15 years of “compounding events” and living with bouts of depression and chronic pain.
“Defence thrives on a disassociation sort of lifestyle, and dissociation as a lifestyle choice is not great,” he said.
“It’s important when someone’s in a high stress situation for them to disconnect their emotional responses to be able to deal with the stresses at hand which is appropriate.
“But then we get back [to everyday life] and we don’t process.”
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Forming a better understanding of the natural human response to stress and trauma is at the heart of what Armstrong hopes to leave as a legacy of his project titled ‘Voices of Veterans’.
So compelling was Armstrong’s work that the photographic installation art received personal endorsement by Governor-General David Hurley and his wife, who are credited by Armstrong as the force behind its debut at the National Press Club last year.
Now, it’s Toowoomba’s turn to host the exhibition which will be showing at UniSQ’s Art Gallery from February 26 – March 29 and is open to all to attend.
Armstrong said he hoped the event would act as a conversation starter for the broader community, and even be that nudge someone may need to seek help themselves.
“There’s no trauma Olympics as far as I’m concerned and PTSD shows that trauma is wide and varied,” he said.
“But the experience of living with PTSD is quite universal.”Armstrong plans to continue showcasing the exhibition nationally, accompanied by community building activities.
For more information, visit http://www.unisq.edu.au/about-unisq/locations/toowoomba/art-gallery
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