A new exhibition at London's Bethlem Museum of the Mind will explore the complex relationship between mental health and social connections through diverse artworks ranging from empty community rooms to colorful canvases filled with caricatures. The show, titled "Kindred," examines how communities can both comfort and isolate individuals struggling with mental health challenges, particularly against the backdrop of today's politically and socially divided climate.
The exhibition, staged at the world's oldest psychiatric hospital in southeast London, features works by artists who have drawn from their personal experiences with mental illness. Among the notable pieces is "Morning Group" by Charlotte Johnson Wahl, the late mother of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which she painted while receiving treatment at the Maudsley Hospital. The artwork captures her distressing experience with group therapy sessions, depicting herself as a red-haired woman with an expression of horror and ghostliness.
Contemporary artist Mud contributes three pieces that chronicle their journey from distrust to healing through therapeutic intervention. Having lived with borderline personality disorder and psychosis, Mud expressed strong belief in the healing power of community support from those who understand similar struggles. "I firmly believe in the healing benefits of support from a community that understands and has been through similar things," Mud stated. "I don't think I'd be on my recovery journey today if it weren't for other people helping me along the way."
Photographer Gareth McConnell's contribution features images of empty rooms awaiting transformation through therapy sessions. McConnell, who attended his first Narcotics Anonymous meeting at Bethlem Maudsley's now-defunct Wickham Park House detox unit in 1999 during treatment for chronic intravenous drug use, reflected on the power of community gatherings. He described how rooms with "broken plastic chairs, linoleum floors, and strip lighting" could be temporarily filled with love through the ritual of group meetings.
Rebecca Raybone, Bethlem's exhibitions officer, explained that the free exhibition evolved from the museum sector's challenge to promote social cohesion and justice during polarized times. "We thought it would be a really interesting topic to consider in terms of how that is related to mental health and mental health treatment," she said. "Society can make you feel very alone sometimes, or can have the opposite effect of making you feel really part of something." The exhibition's title "Kindred" reflects the positive aspects of forming bonds with others, while also acknowledging negative group experiences.
Additional featured works include "The Group," a large oil painting by the late artist and art therapist Charles Lutyens, and David Chick's intricate "People Trying to Reach Me" from 1986. Photographer Benji Reid's "Holding on to Daddy" (2016), which won the Wellcome Trust photography prize in 2020 for mental health imagery, will also be displayed alongside vibrant ceramics by Chilean artist and former prisoner of conscience Bibi Herrera, who received treatment at Bethlem.
Colin Gale, director of Bethlem Museum of the Mind, emphasized the exhibition's relevance in today's fragmented society. "In a climate of political, cultural, and economic atomization, social cohesion seems elusive," he noted. "The presence, or absence, of community is felt especially keenly in the face of mental health challenges." Gale described how the featured artists seem to say, "Listen to me, talk to me, understand me. Don't just medicate me."
Bethlem Royal Hospital joined the National Health Service in partnership with the Maudsley Hospital in 1948, forming the foundation for what is now the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The "Kindred" exhibition will run from January 16 through June 27, 2026, at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind, offering visitors an opportunity to explore the complex dynamics between mental health treatment and community support.
