THIS week (May 10-16) is Mental Health Awareness Week.

To mark this, the Ealing Broadway Pop Up Gallery is showing work by West London based artist and musician Rory Thomas, who nine years ago suffered a serious mental health episode.

Rory started his career lecturing in Art History, but this path was thrown into turmoil when in 2012 he suffered a serious mental health episode.

As part of his recovery, Rory turned to extended walks, song writing and more recently art.

He describes his style as urban expressionism.

His paintings use ink, acrylic and digital collage and annotate the personal code he developed to manage his extreme mood swings.

"I hope my work will touch a common chord with many people who, during lockdown have tended towards negative introspection and overthinking," he said.

Many of the works feature parts of his journals kept at the height of his illness, as well as self-portraits and photography.

These document in his own code, the world in which he believed he existed.

Today, making art and organising art events has become Rory's career.

He was recently involved in exhibiting and helping to hang the Richmond Mind show at Orleans House.

"I feel incorporating my experiences from a severe mental health episode in my art has helped me recover and hopefully will speak to the many others who find themselves affected," he added.

You can see Rory's work and that of four new artists at Ealing Broadway Pop Up Gallery, adjacent to Tesco, from today (May 10), weekdays 11am-5pm and Saturdays 10am- 6pm.

Follow Rory on Instagram HERE.