How Tori’s ‘Yoodle’ characters help with mental health

Tori Woolley is a Norfolk-based illustration and ‘Yoodles’ artist, called The Pink Hare. Ahead of a debut solo exhibition in Norwich this month, Tori explains the close connection between art and themes of mental health

Can you remind readers who you are and what you do?

My name is Tori Woolley, but I also go by The Pink Hare when I ‘m exhibiting my wildlife artwork, and Yoodles Art. I’m a 24-year-old Norfolk based artist, that specialises in realistic paintings of wildlife, contemporary artwork, and abstraction. It may seem like a weird combination of art styles, but each one reflects my personality, and tells a story from my childhood to today.

I’ve always been in touch with art ever since I was little, I would gravitate towards the canvas, being free and creative. It didn’t have to be sketching or painting – if given some shapes, my mind would blur out what was going on around me, and I would zone in on creating patterns and tessellates from my imagination.

I would find that scribbling on pages and notebooks would later on help me to de-stress and cope with my mental health issues, social anxiety, and encephalitis, as I would struggle to process and understand things that may come easier for others.

With my Yoodles, they emerged from my unconscious mind one day when I was at university in the printing room and started to sketch shapes. These later emerged and evolved into quirky characters. I realised I had lost track of time as I felt so relaxed in my mind and was able to wander and reimagine shapes into characters.

I will always treasure that moment, as that was a moment that really cemented it for me an art form that gave me a voice to explore the deeper areas of my imagination, and cope with my mental health issues.

We featured you in 2022, as part of the GoGoDiscover trail, when you were about to graduate from NUA – how has everything been for you since then?

Since 2022, I have been striving towards growing my name as an artist with my wildlife and contemporary art, but to also push myself to be more confident within myself and take steps to work on my social anxiety.

During the last two years I’ve had the opportunity to showcase my art on two more public art trails, and collaborate with one of my sponsors to create a Yoodles workshop with the charity team at ‘A better Start’, where we encouraged people to take a moment to express their inner thoughts, and allow their imagination to be free to create shapes that evolve into anything they want, and find a second to give their mind a space to relax and unwind.

What is the thinking behind your forthcoming Yoodles exhibition – and how has the Yoodles art collection helped you with your mental health?

I want to show how art can be an outlet to ease your anxieties and find a safe place to allow your mind to wander, and unconsciously express itself on canvas, sculpture, or even just scrap bit of paper. The possibilities are endless.

During and after my exhibition, I hope my art and story will speak to people and help them find a creative outlet that helps them, as much as it helps me.

What you create in that space doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to help you relax and calm the mind, even just be a few scribbles or random shapes on a page. With my art and Yoodles, not only have they given me a voice but, also, they allow me to be me, Tori, bubbly, cheerful, imaginative, with a dash of weird and quirky.

How does it feel to have your first solo show?

Honestly, it feels unreal, I feel that I have found an amazing space to showcase my art. I have always been so unsure about putting the Yoodles out there for the public, with the uncertainty of whether people will like the artwork or understand how and why they are an important part of my life.

But now, with having shared and worked with people who took the time to see my art and tell me the positive feeling they get when seeing it, has really motivated me to let others share in my story and artwork.

Is it a collaboration with Break charity again?

Not this time round, but maybe in the future. However, there will be two sculpture guests from my time with Break and WildinArt that will be making an appearance on the evening preview event, welcoming visitors to the Yoodles exhibition, and showcasing the diversity of how the Yoodles have gone from sketches to being part of something that everyone can enjoy.

I have loved being involved with Break and WildinArt, as they helped give my Yoodles and art a voice that gave me confidence to open up and share my story, and the Yoodles positive effect on coping with my mental health.

When and where is the exhibition happening – and where can people find out more about your work generally?

My exhibition will debut on August 22-25, 2024, in the upstairs gallery above ‘Moosey Art’, 3 Labour in Vain Yard, Norwich NR2 1JD (11am – 5pm).

During the exhibition I will be in the gallery and, if time allows, will be working on other original pieces, but will be happy to show people round the exhibition and answer any questions.

My new website is currently being worked on, with a fresh new look, featuring my Yoodles, contemporary pieces, and of course my fine watercolour paintings of British wildlife, and will eventually include a shop.

People can find me and my work on my existing site thepinkhare.co.uk, and can follow me on Instagram (@thepinkhareuk), and (@yoodlesart). I look forward to everyone who visits the Yoodles exhibition.

The Yoodles Art Exhibition takes place in ‘Upstairs’, above Moosey Art, 3 Labour in Vain Yard, Norwich, NR2 1JD, between August 22 and 25, 2024, Visit The Pink Hare.

Featured images – supplied