SOUTH HOLLAND, IL–The Art & Design Department of South Suburban College (SSC) is pleased to announce a guest artist exhibition entitled “Sink or Swim: Navigating My Mental Health” by Jamilah Adebesin Mason. The series of photographs is on display at South Suburban College in the Photo Four Gallery on the fourth floor of the Main Campus from Monday, September 12 through Thursday, October 13, 2022. A special artist talk will be held in the Photo Four Gallery on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Adebesin Mason graduated in 2009 from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Secondary Art Education. She then returned to her alma mater, Hillcrest High School, as the fine arts teacher, and went on to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Digital Imaging and Independent Film at Governors State University. Much of her time is spent encouraging teenagers and creating a safe place for artistry to blossom.

Adebesin Mason’s current body of work is based on the need to move past mental barriers and facilitate psychological awareness rather than merely existing. Each piece is related to a specific emotion and depicts emotional trauma or a mental breakthrough. 

“Photographs of me are incorporated into mixed media abstract environments, comprised of found and handmade objects incased in resin,” Adebesin Mason remarked. “This work serves as a passage to exploring my mental health and becoming more present in the healing process.” 

The SSC Photo Four Gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. All SSC galleries are closed on weekends and holidays. The public is welcome to visit art exhibitions at no charge. For more information, please call Pamela Planera (708) 596-2000, ext. 2211 or email at pplanera@ssc.edu. SSC is located at 15800 South State Street, South Holland, Illinois.