MENTAL health is usually discussed in medical or clinical terms. Nigerian visual artist Jelil Bello, however, offers a different perspective by using art to encourage reflection, resilience, and healing. His piece ‘Drift’, which looks at changing ideas of identity and mental wellbeing, recently won the People’s Choice Award at ‘Art asa Response to Mental Health’. The exhibition is open at Chinwe Russell Art Gallery in Doncaster, UK, until the end of July 2026.
In ‘Drift’, a human face appears from swirling golden smoke, caught between being seen and fading away. This image shows how thought, emotion, and self-perception are always shifting, suggesting that identity is always changing. The artwork reflects the hidden struggles of mental distress but also points to the chance for change. Light breaking through darkness stands for healing, encouraging viewers to think about resilience instead of despair.
‘Drift’ is a digital artwork that uses gentle changes in tone to create layers of light and shadow, mostly in gold. Its quiet beauty connected with many people, helping Bello win the exhibition’s People’s Choice Award. He showed his work alongside artists from 21 countries, including many from Africa, in a show that received over 301 submissions. The Judges’ Choice first prize was awarded to Marrie Rowley for ‘Hidden In Plain Sight’.
Bello’s recognition at the UK exhibition is just one part of his wider work, which often explores the emotional and psychological sides of modern life. Through photography, mixed media, and conceptual art, he often focuses on themes like identity, memory, vulnerability, and resilience.
One of these works, ‘Breath of Becoming’, shows clouds of coloured smoke drifting like thoughts, representing emotion, change, and transformation. Instead of showing healing as simple or complete, the piece accepts uncertainty and suggests that recovery can be uneven but still beautiful in its own way.
In ‘Between Roots and Reflection’, human figures overlap with tree shapes, creating a dreamlike scene about belonging, memory, and self-discovery. The layers show how identity can be complicated, shaped by both personal history and inner struggles. In a similar way, ‘Ghost in the Ink’ uses smoke-like shapes fading into darkness to show anxiety, lingering emotions, and memories that are hard to put into words. The work uses gentle spiritual symbols to express feelings that are hard to explain but familiar to many.
This connection between psychology and the environment continues in ‘Echoes in Form’, where natural rhythms are shown as visual movement. The organic patterns suggest that landscapes can hold emotion, memory, and energy. The work encourages viewers to think about how caring for the environment is linked to mental wellbeing. Bello suggests that ignoring nature also harms the emotional spaces people live in.
Environmental themes are even stronger in works like ‘Bloom’ and ‘Where Stone Breathes’. In ‘Bloom’, a tree-like shape stands tall, showing renewal, growth, and endurance. ‘Where Stone Breathes’ brings solid rocks to life, suggesting that life and renewal are possible even in tough conditions. Together, these works reflect on ecological recovery and highlight hope and resilience.
Heritage is a key theme in ‘Eyo Olumo’, where Olumo Rock in Abeokuta, Ogun State, stands as a symbol of cultural memory, protection, and ancestral ties. Bello turns this landmark into a sign of both place and tradition, with the title hinting at a meeting between the historic rock and the grand Eyo Festival in Lagos. The work highlights the need to protect cultural landscapes as sources of shared identity.
While Bello often uses abstract images, the human figure is still important in his art. He mixes abstract and recognizable shapes, making themes like mental wellbeing easy to connect with but still deep. This mix lets viewers interpret the work in their own way without losing its emotional impact.
This style continues in ‘The Memory of Shape’, where repeating stone shapes stand for endurance, history, and inherited memory. The piece looks at communities whose identities are tied to their landscapes, buildings, and natural features, suggesting that places carry history just as much as people do.
A similar feeling is found in ‘Rocky Reflections’, where a nearly hidden figure lies in a rocky setting. The quiet scene creates a mood of thoughtfulness and solitude, touching on themes of displacement, emotional calm, and the common search for shelter, belonging, and comfort.
Bello works in photography, mixed media, and conceptual art, building a practice based on visual storytelling. His art often explores identity, culture, memory, and the social issues that affect daily life, starting conversations about mental health, abuse, youth vulnerability, poverty, caregiving, environmental care, and community strength. While ‘Drift’ has brought him international attention, it also shows how art can help people reflect, empathise, and begin to heal, even if it does not solve mental distress directly.