Who we are & why we are

Welcome to the gallery site of Broken Light Collective. We are artists of all levels and abilities who are affected by mental illness. We create and we share our work for the therapeutic benefits to us, as well as others who may be struggling and feeling scared and alone. Together we can move from disconnected to collective.

Photo taken by contributor Tracy, a 30-year-old woman who lives with her husband and 8-year-old daughter in Glasgow, UK. Tracy has struggled with anxiety and depression for several years. She worked as an office assistant but was signed off work due to mental health issues. She deteriorated even more after that, with time spent in hospital, going to see counsellors, and lots of medications, with various side effects. She decided that she didn’t want to live like that anymore and she wanted to make her daughter proud of her, so she pushed herself to go back to college where she chose to study photography. She quickly realized how much she loved every aspect of photography. Although she still has very dark days, she continues to push herself and carry on doing what she loves.

About this photo: “This image was taken for a project I did for uni, which was a series of 8 final images portraying my mental health issues. This particular one was taken on Bonfire Night but in that moment it reminded me of the Dylan Thomas poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”. Specifically the line “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. This made me think about how strong we are, fighting this battle no one can see. We have to rage against the darkness so it does not consume us.

Find more from Tracy at her website.

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**Visit Broken Light’s main gallery here ▸ Now a 501(c)3 non-profit! Please donate here.

*Facebook & Twitter @BrokenLighCo & @DanielleHark. Follow for e-mail notifications.


9 responses to “Rage Against the Darkness”

  1. Hank shaw Avatar
    Hank shaw

    Great photo and wonderful description

    Liked by 2 people

  2. butterflyvenom Avatar
    butterflyvenom

    It’s so lovely Tracy! That verse is one of my personal mantras. Great work and thank you for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Aky Avatar
    Aky

    Very nicely written, a great read!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. liciamichelle Avatar
    liciamichelle

    Beautiful

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Rambling Rose Avatar

    The words make the picture so much more poignant !!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Anabell Avatar

    Great post. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. shailayeewhatsinsurname Avatar
    shailayeewhatsinsurname

    nice!!

    Liked by 1 person

  8. ShadingNepenthe Avatar

    Reblogged this on ShadingNepenthe and commented:
    scraps peeled from the wall and fell into the depths of the fire.
    the embers licked them up greedily.
    more greedily than their reason to writhe.
    that fire burned in the depth of my heart.
    and the depth of the fire shielded both the beauty of the past, and the ambitions yet to discover.
    A great picture, I loved the incandescent glow and how the sparks are independent in their world, free from the place where they are originally from and waiting to evolve into something new.

    Liked by 2 people

  9. sylairda Avatar

    Reblogged this on Saudade.

    Like

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