Something struck home for artist Lottie Rae when she read an article about suicide amongst rural men in Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Miss Rae grew up on a farm in Narromine and she now lives on a property in Gin Gin, she found it shocking how many farmers take their own lives.
The painter decided to create an artwork representing theses feelings, and when she received an overwhelming response on social media, she auctioned it off to raise money for mental ill health awareness.
“On average one Australian Farmer takes his own life every four days. Over ten years that is 912 men,” she said.
“This painting I have completed has over 40,000 brush strokes. Each one a representative to Australian life on the land. The blue strokes represent the average number of suicides in rural Australia over the last ten years. The gold representing the families they left behind. For me, this visual helps put into perspective how shocking these statistics really are.”
Miss Rae was overwhelmed by the response when she uploaded the painting on Facebook last week.
The painting and explanation has been shared over 150 times and liked by over 550 people.
On Sunday she auctioned off the painting to the highest bidder with all proceeds going to the Black Dog Institute, a globally recognised mental ill health organisation.
But with a response like that I feel like I want to do more to raise awareness,
- Lottie Rae, Artist
Miss Rae was delighted when the bidding got to $2000.
“I am genuinely shocked, I honestly didn’t think anyone would even read my post,” she said.
“But with a response like that I feel like I want to do more to raise awareness.”
Miss Rae left a note at the end of her post asking her friends and extended friends to reach out to those in need.
“If you’re feeling down, talk to someone, and if you notice a change in someone else reach out. These numbers are outrageous,” she said.
Follow the artist at her Facebook page: Lottie Rae Art.