SAMH spotlights the innermost thoughts of mental health sufferers through AI

The Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH) has launched a generative artificial intelligence (AI) art exhibition titled “Prompting Feelings”. Done in partnership with creative innovation agency R/GA, the exhibition aims to showcase the thoughts and feelings of eight Singaporeans living with various mental health conditions.

The exhibition comes as generative AI is increasingly being used for productivity, personal entertainment, and machine learning. “Prompting Feelings” aims to apply generative AI to express the complex and often misunderstood thoughts of people with conditions such as schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder.

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In preparation for the exhibition, the SAMH and R/GA teams undertook closed-door interviews with each participant, seeking to understand their struggles, experiences, hopes, and dreams. Those conversations led to the pieces that depicted the unique stories of each artist.

The teams used a trained model of the Stable Diffusion computer programme to create specific parameters for the AI pieces. This was to avoid infringing the copyrights of existing works while respecting the artists’ preferred art styles.

“Generative A.I. expands our visual vocabulary for feelings and experiences that may elude verbal expression,” said Serene Goh, team lead for outreach, creative services, Singapore Association for Mental Health. She added that the artworks generated by AI help viewers experience multiple feelings and thoughts at one go, mirroring human experiences of being overwhelmed by multiple emotions.

She explained that the exhibition helped participants to “occupy a significant presence and amplify their voices to a fresh audience, prompting feelings and fostering empathy for the mental health cause.”

Ed Cheong, executive creative director at R/GA Singapore, said that the exhibition aims to shed more light on the emotions of people with mental health conditions, which are not easily accessible to people who do not experience them. He added that the exhibition aims to “generate empathy and improve mental health literacy”.

The “Prompting Feelings” exhibit is not the first time SAMH has looked to spotlight the experiences of mental health conditions. In March 2021, it unveiled Curiography, a virtual photo exhibition that showcased the visual creations of 13 youths with mental health challenges.

It prompted participants to discover “What Moves Your Curiosity?” through motion photography. “We hope to continue our journey in helping people with mental health issues achieve their fullest potential, build awareness and expression through creativity and raise greater support for mental wellness for all through our expressive art programmes,” said senior assistant director of SAMH creative services, Jane Goh, at the time.

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