On this episode of the Explore Your Core Podcast, I am joined with Bohie. Bohie isn’t just an artist- she is a change maker, a pioneer, and shaping how we see the world. Growing up in Braidwood, NSW, she studied drawing and printmaking, and what underpins many of the works she does across the diverse mediums she uses is story. Her fascination with stories led her to get a camera and roam the streets during her gap year, keeping a sketchbook with her while she travelled, capturing moments through drawings and quotes from hostels. She began to find her voice looking at the spaces between us. We talk about the struggles of having your voice dampened and some of the struggles of finding the balance between being a creative and doing commercial projects as well as being in this field as a woman. She speaks about her journey finding who she authentically was after finding herself in the skate community after a breakup and not knowing where she stood as a female in that space.

In the years that followed, she came to realise she wasn’t okay and turned inwards to heal. We spoke about creativity and depression, how she found art to be therapeutic, and her battles with imposter syndrome.

“Our language is so limited. We label everything, but every single label has connotations and baggage attached to it and visuals cut through that.”

With a 10 year background in sign writing, she came to see the power that words played in her life and how words trapped her- creating categories, connotations, and labels. We discuss labels and mental health and the stigma of different labels. She speaks about the depths her depression took her to and how she now sees those depths as a place she gets to explore and enhance her capacity to feel.We talk about perspectives and how a zoomed-out perspective on life can make people feel everything is connected. Alongside perspective, we touch on how self-talk can be impactful, especially to combat the negative narratives within, and how curiosity can become a counteract method for overcoming fear.

"Curiosity is playfulness. It’s about letting yourself be in awe of anything, even if you just look at a concrete wall, you can find playfulness, or sit there long enough until the light changes or shadows play up against it. It’s just opening yourself up.”

Bohie’s works have been deeply rooted in healing from these life situations and has found it transformative inviting others into her projects turning them into community-driven mural projects that raise the voices and awareness of these issues. You can find her work on her Website and socials here, you can check out her creative agency called Raw Initiative and the book she mentioned in the podcast Women Who Run With The Wolves Follow Explore Your Core on Substack or Spotify to stay up to date. Would love to hear your thoughts on this chat!Until next episode,-Explore Your Core

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