Everyone likes a good story. Once upon a time must be one of the most famous phrases in the English language; it promises entertainment and a moment of escape from our day to day lives. But stories aren’t just for amusement. They also educate and inform. On a darker note, they can be used to influence or manipulate. Stories reflect human experience across countries and cultures, their themes are universal and they’re powerful: love, jealousy, fear, anger, sadness. We all understand primary emotions because we all feel them, and they bind us together. As the poet John Donne said, “No man is an island, and no man lives alone.” In other words, we are all connected.

Art records and reflects. Artists are our visual scribes sometimes considered modern day philosophers. When we see ourselves or something we care about in their work and we identify with it, it becomes a symbol of shared experience or thought. We are reminded of who we are and where we come, and this reminds us of what we have overcome to get where we are. It doesn’t matter what the art is, if we resonate with it that’s all that is important. It reminds us, we’re not alone.

Frans Wesselman uses himself as the main character in his artwork and takes his visual imagery from personal experiences or thought. Art can reflect a simple moment with great significance; an ordinary day to day pleasure, often solitary, that helps to keep us sane such as a hot bath or reading a good book in bed. Literature is story telling in its purest form whether book, poetry, play or opera. Frans often explores pieces of writing in his art on which he is meditating. He translates what he sees and reads into colourful woodcuts, linocuts and etchings. He gives us back those moments to be with ourselves again, to think our thoughts and reflect, he creates a space for us to process. It is a joyful surprise and gift to rediscover and reclaim them. The biggest surprise is when we realise when we thought we were alone, we were not.

All that we do, all that we think, it’s a story. Our lives become stories. We become stories. The language with which we tell that story is down to us; written, acted, painted, sculpted, spoken. Art is simply one of those languages. My professors and lecturers called it a visual language when I was studying fine art as a young student. Language is communication, and communication helps us to understand ourselves. It is the cornerstone of talking therapies, to get our thoughts and feelings out into the open so we can see them more clearly and understand them better. Communication is the grease of all relationships including the one with ourselves. It reduces friction and helps us move forward more easily. It is storytelling and it’s connection. It is art.