Woven Hands (Community Mental Health)

Artist: Abeles, Kim

Date: 2013

Medium: Digital moving image on wood

Artwork Dimensions: 96 x 147 x 34 1/2 in.

County Department: Mental Health

Artwork Site: Kedren Community Mental Health Center

Supervisorial District: 2

Current Status: On view

About the Artwork: To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Community Mental Health Act in November 2013, artist Kim Abeles created a media art wall, titled Woven Hands (Community Mental Health), on temporary display in the lobby of Kedren Community Health Center. Abeles also created a community sand tray that has been donated to the center for use in their future programming initiatives. The project features video footage of Kedren's young patients engaging in sandplay therapy, photos that represent key milestones in the 50-year trajectory of the Community Mental Health Act, as well as imagery documenting Kedren's history as one of the first nonprofit mental health agencies to receive funding through this landmark legislation. Still photos from the videos are woven together with images of trees and sky. The hands of young patients engaging in sandplay therapy are related to imagery of John F. Kennedy's hands signing the Community Mental Health Act.

About the Artist: Kim Abeles' installations and community projects cross disciplines and media to explore biography, geography and environment. Abeles’ work merges hand-crafted materials with digital representations and often includes the engagement of a specific community or audience in concept and design development. Abeles has received fellowships and awards from the J. Paul Getty Trust Fund for the Visual Arts, California Community Foundation, Durfee Foundation, Pollack-Krasner Foundation, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and California Arts Council.