A Queensland thalidomide survivor is shining a light on the healing power of art. A new Gold Coast exhibition is providing artists living with a disability a platform to share their journeys in a unique way.
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00:00 Trish Jackson is an artist and a thalidomide survivor.
00:06 It affected my birth, it affected me growing up, it affected my health, it affected schooling, it affected job opportunities, it affected relationships, it just affects everything.
00:18 The Queensland woman was born without arms, a heart defect and lung problems because her mum took just a single tablet of the morning sickness drug while she was pregnant in the 60s.
00:29 Trish lives in constant pain and turned to art to get her through challenging times.
00:35 Even if it's just for half an hour or an hour, it's just an hour of not thinking about the pain that I live in and just your mind's at another place and in peace.
00:47 What started as her love of photography turned into brush to canvas seven years ago, often drawing inspiration from her pictures.
00:56 It's just like reliving the photos and that moment that that photo was taken.
01:01 For the first time her work is being displayed at an exhibition on the Gold Coast.
01:06 Called the Healing Power of Art, it focuses on giving people with a disability and neurodiversity a platform.
01:12 It certainly has helped heal my heart and my pain levels so I was only too keen to go ahead and do it.
01:20 I hope that we can show everyone the amazing talent that lies within this sector of the community and really and overarching that just show how powerful art is to transform lives.
01:33 It's hoped that art can portray what words cannot.
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