Veteran Health Equity Art Gallery
The Office of Health Equity has asked artists who have connections to the military to help visualize the military experience, social justice, and what health equity for all Veterans might look like. This gallery grew out of Office of Health Equity’s Health Equity Action Plan efforts to increase awareness of the significance of health disparities, their impact on the nation, and the actions necessary to improve health outcomes for racial, ethnic, and underserved populations.
Current Exhibition: Showcasing Military Family Artists
This project presents the work of two artists who are family members of individuals that have longstanding careers serving their country in the United States Army and continued service to the Veterans they served with. Mel Latthitham and Milan Viboolsittiseri are Portland artists. They are also family members of individuals that have longstanding careers serving their country in the United States Army and continued service to the Veterans they served with. Mel is a caregiver who creates textile prints, stuffed animals, and magnets. Her equally talented son, Milan, is also a regular in the Portland handmade artisanal art scene. Milan's hand-drawn creations are featured on computer stickers, postcards, and buttons. The family blends all their creative energy into holistic art projects that engage nature, art, and exercise.
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| Lucid 1 | Lucid 2 |
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| Lucid 3 | M5 |
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| M6 | M8 |
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| Untitled 1 | Untitled 2 |
Current Exhibition: Women Veterans' Experiences With Chronic Pain
This project presents the experiences of women Veterans living with chronic pain. Through their photographs, the invalidation of their pain, systemic barriers to adequate healthcare, and gender discrimination emerged. The images reflect their resilience and coping strategies while emphasizing the significance of storytelling in confronting and addressing these challenges. Some participants also had written narratives to accompany their visual submissions.
Accompanying Exhausted, the Veteran artist wrote, “Doctors often times do not understand what I mean when I say I am exhausted and struggling with fatigue. They don't realize that I mean a bone deep inability to move most of the time. It means I can go a whole day without getting a thing done because I can barely get to the bathroom. They do not realize that I am not saying I am a bit sleepy sometimes, but often times unable to function because my body just feels too heavy and hurts more than one would think possible.” She also submitted the piece, Mental Health, and wrote, “For this picture I wanted to show what 2019 was like for me while I was still active duty and struggling so much with my mental health as my physical health declined. I tried to get help from the mental health provider that medical had for us, however he told me that I was not suicidal, just too pessimistic.”
Another Veteran artist submitted two pieces that reflect how chronic pain has changed her life with her family. Accompanying her piece, Irrevocably Broken, she wrote, “I never thought when I got married that I would end up divorced. After my injuries started progressing my husband decided “he didn’t sign up to be a caretaker” and he was done. Our divorce finalized in June of 2022. This is a combination of images from the divorce process and paperwork layers over one of our wedding pictures.” Her piece, 50/50, visualizes how her life has changed since her divorce. She wrote that this piece shows “My ex-husband picking up our son for his share of the week. We have 50/50 custody and get along great but it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done every single time.”
Other Veteran artists submitted pieces that reflected how their chronic pain impacts their day-to-day existence. Accompanying Work Texts, the Veteran artist wrote, “I am constantly having to request time off work or away from work for appointments. It makes it even harder to request time off work for bad pain days. It has impacted my career growth and opportunities.” The piece Wheel Chair reflects how “sporty wheel chairs are needed to shop, sometimes especially for groceries and other lengthy journeys.”
Please click on the hyperlinked titles underneath the pieces to expand the images.
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| Falling Apart |
