Nina Hurr
Nina’s mental health journey has been one of acknowledgement, discovery and self-care and hasn’t been easy to navigate with hospitalisations, hard work and constant dedication to healthy habits for their wellbeing.
Nina shared the process of discovering why they were feeling ‘so weird’ and not themselves, a difficult journey that is far from over.
“I eventually took myself to hospital and I didn’t know what was wrong. I hadn’t slept for three days, I couldn’t sit still, and I was experiencing mania. While I was in hospital, I realised it was kinda’ serious what was going on for me and I had to, like, live with this and have the kind of life I want still.”
“I was difficult and resistant - I didn’t want to take medication and I didn’t want to make changes to help my mental health, but that didn’t really work, so then I started learning about self-care and how to manage difficult thoughts.”
“I had psychosis quite a few times and I realised I needed to proactively get myself through this, and that’s where art came into the picture and physical exercise and trying to eat healthy, but then not getting upset with myself if I don’t do those things all the time.”
Nina worked through the resistance to a place of acceptance, which enabled her to work with a healthcare team towards common goals and create a safe place to reassess during times of uncertainty.
“Everyone who I work with gets it, peer workers, my family – but that in itself has been a journey.”
As we speak Nina is sitting in the sunshine watching their rescue chickens scrabble in the garden and a great energy radiates through the phone as we catch up on what has been happening since the 2024 Recovered Futures Art Exhibition.
Nina talks about a couple of artistic projects, including painting a series of reclaimed surfboards with their signature whimsical illustrations and bright colours for a shop called ‘Made in Mullum’.
Over the last few months, Nina has achieved some amazing personal and professional goals, with their employment as a part-time peer-worker in suicide prevention and LGBTIQAP mental health.
“I was studying peer work at TAFE and everyone there had lived experience of mental health, even the teachers – it was so supportive and cool. I finished it in November 2023.”
Nina talks to their peer work and art practice as a shared expression, a safe space and a gentle way to connect with people in times of potential crisis.
“I think sometimes art is ultimately the best way to connect with people, sometimes just sitting down casually drawing pictures together is a really nice, kind of gentle way to have a conversation and not be clinical about it.”
“It’s just a shared expression and experience.”
Looking forward to the year ahead Nina is exploring spray paint and graffiti techniques in their art practice -thinking outside the box and trialing this new technique on large ply-wood panels, which they can utilise in their own art and in client support.
Nina Hurr can be found on Instagram and lives in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, where they love to surf, paint and be part of the creative community that thrives there.