Chanté's Story

Art is much more than a pastime for Chanté Ranclaud – it’s a vehicle that allows her to tap into the truest and most authentic version of herself. Chanté’s creativity has helped her work through a lengthy battle with trauma, carving out space to cultivate calm in her busy mind.  

“Art has always been a means of medicine for me, and still is to this day. Having art from a young age helped me believe that everything would be OK – I could use my pain as fuel. Over the years, art has grown into my ‘thing’ and become a huge part of my identity.” 

Chanté believes that creativity lies dormant within all of us – just waiting to be unlocked. She says there are infinite benefits to nurturing the creative self, as she has discovered time and time again. 

“Art allows me to lose myself on purpose in order to rediscover myself. I turn to art when I feel misplaced and like I’ve forgotten who I am. During the process, I push away from everything I thought was true – my own self-sabotaging thoughts – to find ‘me’ again. In that moment, I know who I am, what I want to do and what I’m capable of.” 

“I feel so passionate about encouraging people to find a creative outlet, whether that’s art or sport or whatever it may be. You might think, ‘this feels so silly’, but it can become a tool that you can use to go out and face the day. If you don’t try, you’ll never know.” 

"The Weeping Gumnut" by Chanté Ranclaud on display at the 2022 Recovered Futures Art Exhibition.

Chanté exhibited for the first time in last year’s Recovered Futures Art Exhibition, selling both of her remarkable works. She found the experience of exhibiting to be both comforting and inspiring. 

“I was just blown away. I felt this sense of community, connection, understanding and a whole world of support out there. I tend to spend so much time alone, but the exhibition showed me that there is a strong network out here, where we can talk and bounce things off one another.” 

“Community is more important than ever. I think isolation in our society has contributed to so many mental health challenges. I don’t think we’re meant to walk through this world on our own and we never were. We need people, and we can assist each other to the finish line.”  

Chanté says the turning point in her own mental health journey was taking control of her choices.  

“There have certainly been times when I have fallen on my face and sat in self-pity – and that was where I needed to be for a little while. But ultimately it didn’t get me anywhere. When you’re down in the dumps, remember that you always have a choice. It’s not about what happens to you; it’s about how you get back up again.” 

“It is in your control to say, ‘today I’m going to try something else’. That’s where the power is; that’s what really helped me, alongside discovering a powerful healing modality called Holographic Kinetics. Choosing to be accountable for my choices led to having a different outlook, which led me to creating a different life for myself. Whatever you’re going through will not last forever – this will change, this will pass.” 

Chanté is happy to share her story in an effort to promote compassion, understanding and solidarity. She describes the experience of exhibiting as ‘surreal’ – and encourages others to give it a go.   

“I think there’s still this idea that only ‘certain people’ live with mental illness; it’s a foreign thing. But the truth is it’s part of life; it’s part of being human – and that’s what this exhibition conveys. I was so proud to see my artwork displayed at an event of this scale, together with other people like me. It’s something I won’t forget.”