MITWELT MELT SERIES | Jennie Vegt

“When facing profound loss, finding meaning in suffering is sometimes the only coping strategy remaining. Rather than being optimistic about it, one might create positive shifts despite, or even as a result of, the loss. Research suggests that integrating loss into one's beliefs and finding meaning lowers the risk of Prolonged Grief Disorder. Four main themes of meaning include personal growth, valuing life, continuing bonds, and a sense of peace. An autobiographical painting series illustrates these themes through a woman realizing her own temporal nature through grief, represented by melting ice cream. As she embraces the unknown and processes her pain, she gains agency and eventually finds replenishment in a lake of melted ice cream, symbolizing connection to the collective human experience through grief.”

Jennie Vegt is a professional artist and a Psychiatry graduate student working on a thesis on arts in health. Having used art-making to process her own healing, Vegt is passionate about creating greater accessibility to the healing power of arts for those who might not identify as 'artist'. She works as an 'Artist on the Ward', where she has learned that genuine human connection is the access point to engaged creativity and 'flow' in her sessions with patients in hospital. Discover more about Vegt on Instagram @jenniethepainter.