Art & Men’s Mental Health unveiled in Xavier Leopold’s first sculpture [@byxaviart]

In light of Men’s Mental Health Month, Xavier Leopold presents his first sculpture piece ‘Like a Phoenix Turned To Stone’, which conceptualises his past experiences with mental health and his feelings surrounding almost losing his inner flame. 

With a strong message about men’s mental health and the personal struggles he faced, Leopold’s passion for art blossomed during the period of lockdown 2020 in a time of social and political unrest, his art has served as a source of personal therapy and escapism for him and his audience.

The self-taught multidisciplinary artist of Sierra Leonean descent, generally experiments with abstract portraiture and cubism through the concepts of time, introspection, faith, relationships, and legacy. Leopold takes a bold approach in depicting characters that are focused back on the audience, a way to convey direct emotions between the artist and the viewer. 

His works have been shown at numerous venues across London, including the OXO Tower held in 2020 and 2022, which was supported by Beats by Dre. Alongside this He has also featured on BBC, discussing his practice and the launch of his fill-in journal and activity book ‘Art For The Heart‘, which focuses on wellbeing and mental health for children.

Xavier: Birthing ‘Like a Phoenix Turned to Stone’ during Men’s Mental Health Month is intentional. The piece conceptualises the feeling of losing, or almost losing, one’s inner flame. The fact that rising from the ashes doesn’t necessarily mean life thereafter isn’t without its challenges. This can be a difficult reality to navigate and requires strengthening of the mind and self belief. 

Find out more about Xavier’s work here.

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