‘LABELS: Black Mental Health and Me’, An Interview with Chiyana Ankhrah On Her Latest Exhibition

‘LABELS: Black Mental Health and Me’, an exhibition created by 23-year-old London-based photographer, Chiyana Ankhrah, is coming to the Kingston College Creative Industries Centre this month. From the 5th to the 10th of July, the exhibition will be open for public viewing and is free to all. The exhibition dives into the currently unsuitable representations and support available for black mental health - a topic that has become increasingly important in the last few years.

Credit: Chiyana Ankhrah

Mental health has forever been a difficult topic of conversation within our community and LABELS has been curated to talk about it. LABELS is a photographic documentary that focuses on the anecdotal experiences of four black British men and women, who are currently dealing with or have previously dealt with mental illness. This project uses these stories to explore the impact of situational and intergenerational trauma as well as racial bias within mental health services and how these elements can negatively impact black people’s mental health.

I spoke with Chiyana about all of this and more and can truly say that this is an exhibition not to miss out on! However, if you cannot make it, be sure to follow Chiyana on her journey via her socials @eshephoto and eshephoto.com.

I really appreciate you having this interview with me! Could you introduce yourself a little bit and how you got to this point?

 My name is Chiyana Ankhrah and I'm a photographer. Weirdly enough I actually didn’t become a photographer via education, and I studied English at University. Until I was about 18 was dead set on becoming a writer.

I chose art for one of my A levels and that's kind of where I started more into photography. That was also the year I turned 16 and my mum got me a camera for my birthday. So that's where my camera love started. Then, in sixth form I was able to develop my skills a lot more and get into the swing of being a photographer.

I started studying in Southampton, then I went on my year abroad. I brought my camera with me. I really hated my course, in general, I just really didn’t like the university. In hindsight, it wasn’t the right fit for me. So, I picked up the camera and I posted something on Facebook, and that’s kind of how I got here! 

Then the pandemic happened. I kept doing photography and saying I really, really, really want to do this, this is my passion, and I don't want to do my course anymore. So, I kept focusing on photography and I started applying for a bunch of grants, as I really want to get this project off the ground. I've been working on it for over a year now, which brings us to today! 

Could you talk a bit more about your project? What inspired you to look at blackness and mental health… what made you pick the subjects included? 

 It's a really important thing to me, I’ve struggled with my mental health for a really long time since I was really young. And because of that, I've always felt quite misunderstood with it, particularly as a black woman where I'm often portrayed as hysterical or angry. 

 I've never really felt heard. I went through CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service), a lot of the therapists were white and never really understood what I was going through. They were never able to understand that it wasn't just a chemical imbalance - there were also a lot of situational things that impacted me because I was Black.

A lot of Black people - and really most ethnic minorities- experience things that are part of our culture that negatively impact our mental health. Unfortunately, not a lot of therapists know about this, so as a result a lot of our issues go unresolved or untreated. That is the case of a lot of black people when we get therapists who are typically white. They can’t understand what goes on with us situationally and generationally.

So, telling me to talk back or challenge my parents and speak to them in a way that may seem normal to someone who isn’t Caribbean, but is actually very disrespectful in my culture. It could potentially exacerbate a situation at home and ultimately worsen my mental health. When I’ve worked with Black therapists in the past they’ve immediately understood that. As well as that, I also noticed that there was like a huge gap in any anecdotal, or real statistical evidence about black people and dealing with mental health. It’s ridiculous. When I was researching for this project, I struggled to find things. I had to ask people on Twitter for help.

My main motivation behind this was because there is a gap of black people talking about their mental health. Both from the fact that it's a taboo subject in our community and we don't want to talk about it, but also the fact that as a community we’re grouped within BAME. My experience as a black woman is not the same as an Asian man. He has different cultural aspects that impact his mental health and I have different ones that impact mine. 

So, how is the exhibition going to be built up? How will you combine both anecdotes and photography?  

 This exhibition is a completely different style of photography to what I've done. I'm more of a concept and editorial photographer, and this is documentary photography. I’ve photographed the subjects in their favorite place, or a place reflects their story.

The exhibition itself is comprised of photos and installation pieces. Without giving too much away, one is going to be designed like a Caribbean living room. So, it's like you're stepping into the living room and stepping into her story. I’ve combined photography and installation pieces together. I'm really excited to try it out. 

Exciting! So, how do you feel going through this project has impacted you? Hearing all these different stories and having your own history of mental health must have been hard. Has it made you see your blackness or womanhood in a different way? 

 It hasn’t necessarily made me view my blackness or womanhood differently, but it has made me acutely aware of how different factors such as generational trauma and racial bias in the medical field contribute negatively to black people’s mental health and how ignoring these things can lead to us not getting proper care.

We need to be treated by healthcare professionals who understand how our cultural experiences impact our mental health and are able to treat us without preconceived notions about us based on our race, but that type of support isn’t always readily available.

The interviews were distressing and really saddened me, just knowing people were suffering in silence. And sometimes not suffering in silence and speaking out about it and then not getting the help that they needed. It was just like, wow there really is no help for us. 

There were lots of periods when I had to have breaks. It can be quite taxing to be researching things about suicide and death, as well as hearing people's stories about them going through equally hard things. And then also being able to resonate with that and knowing how hard it can be to deal with mental health.  It was heavy, almost like a weight, but I knew that I had to keep pushing. I needed to do to get the stories out there like it was so important to me.

I can understand that. Sometimes you feel almost duty bound to an area because you see such an absence. Do you have any advice for young Black people in Britain who want to get into photography, or the arts in general? 

It’s going to sound so cliché, but you really must work 10 times harder to get half of what your white counterparts will have, and that's just a fact. We say that a lot on social media, and people don't want to hear it, but it’s true, we do have to work a lot harder. I'm an incredibly talented photographer and I'm not saying that to toot my own trumpet, but I know I’m good at what I do. But I have had to work a lot harder, apply for a lot more grants, apply for a lot more exhibitions, to get only half the way that some of my white colleagues have gotten.  

I've been told ‘no’ a lot, and it has definitely made me feel like I should not be doing this, but I guess my advice would be, if you don't believe in what you can do, look at your work and know that you are good at what you do and keep pushing for it. 

Don't let people tell you that you can't be a photographer or an artist because you're black. Don't let your family tell you that as well, and they won't say it's because you're black. They'll say you should be a doctor or a lawyer, or a writer. But if you want to be an artist, be an artist. You will have to be resilient because you might get a lot of rejections before you get your big break. It took me ages to get to this point, not because of the funding from Creative Youth but to just get to this point. I've applied for so many grants and so much funding and this was finally like my big break and so I would just say keep pushing. 

I also wanted to ask if you have had any outstanding experiences from any organisations, social networks, or groups you would like to shout out? 

The biggest one is UK BFTOG (UK Black Female Photographers). They are incredible, I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I wouldn't even have the confidence in my work that I have without them pushing me. They were the first people that took me seriously and were the first people I exhibited with for the We Are Here Exhibition in 2020. If they hadn’t given me a chance, I feel like I probably would have just given up on photography.

Creative Youth is also a big one, they helped me get this exhibition kick-started in the first place. They gave me a grant, they've given me endless amounts of support, also job opportunities, and opportunities to network as well. The creative talent program that they've put me on, as well as their young artist panel, has been incredible. It's been a great experience. 

Lastly, what’s next for you?

I'm not going to lie, but I need a nap or two first. But after that, I'm getting back on my grind, I'm going to be applying for way more exhibitions, but that's my goal. My big goal is to be in the Tate or the Saatchi Gallery, and to be a Commission based artist who makes concept art about mental health.

This doesn't just end here. This is going to be way bigger than what it already is. For more representation, my next mission is to move my exhibition around, across London. I have reached out to mental health charities, like Black Minds Matter, Mind, and mental health organisations, and I've just never heard back. Hopefully, if I make enough noise, someone will see this and respond to me and say, ‘oh wait, she’s doing something that’s really important’! So, this is not the end.

Well, we definitely care, and we can see the importance of your work. Thank you Chiyana for speaking with me today!  

Credit: Chiyana Ankhrah

[Interview has been edited and condensed for clarity]