As much of the world was shutting down during the pandemic, Ashley published The Masked Project and decided to finish her final steps to becoming a Registered Nurse. As a...
As much of the world was shutting down during the pandemic, Ashley published The Masked Project and decided to finish her final steps to becoming a Registered Nurse. As a nurse, she became increasingly aware of all the people around her who are taking anti-depressants and anxiety medications. From her own personal experiences and those of her children, she knows how medication can help many people function and feel better. While she is glad there are medications to help, she's also fully aware that many of these issues stem from the society in which we live -- a society that has in many ways inflicted mental illness, often ignores mental illness, and has now created the medications to cope with mental illness.
And, then, still even today with many people in similar situations , there are feelings of shame and insecurity for needing to "rely" on medication to feel better. The Pills series reminds us to be kind to one another because you never know what other people are going through. It also challenges us to do better as a society.
The Pills series takes Ashley's amazing photography skills and vaults it to new levels. Merging painting, drawing and assemblage, she creates unique and modern portraits.