Artist Statement

“I’ve been leaning deeper into themes such as identity, trauma, belonging, ageing, isolation, and grief, as a way of unpacking my lived experiences. I’ve been especially drawn to ideas around self-compassion - how self-kindness, shared human experience, and mindfulness play a role in emotional health and wellbeing. Creativity has become a way for me to take care of myself, be kinder to myself and as a way to unpack difficult emotions and to embrace vulnerability. It’s led me to explore these ideas through drawing approaches, artist-curator projects which explore ways in which collaborate and communicate, public workshops, spoken word, digital painting, video art and creative writing. As a starting point I look through family photographs, videos, collected objects from childhood, postcards, greeting cards, letters, text messages, sound recordings of conversations and conversations in real time, all which help with reflecting on my research around Neuroplasticity and self-compassion.”

May 2025 - Dan Auluk

Dan Auluk (British/South Asian, b. 1970) is an artist, writer, and filmmaker with 25 years of experience in emotional health and wellbeing, coaching, mentoring and wellbeing 121’s within NHS, charitable, and educational settings.

Publications

2018

The Last Known Pose, Essays and Reflections on the Work of Qasim Riza Shaheen - Publisher. Cornerhouse Publications; Publication date. 31 Oct. 2018 (A collection of written and visual responses to the works of British artist, Qasim Riza Shaheen. Essays, reflections and conversations, by eminent scholars, curators, artists and collaborators, consider the multiple aspects and the experience of his works.)

2015

New Art West Midlands 2015, Publication: Birmingham Museums Trust; Publication Date 31 Jan. 2015.

Five Years on, independent curator Indra Khanna brings together a collection of recent works by six New Art West Midlands alumni, one from each of the participating art colleges. The exhibition and this accompanying free newspaper considers what happened next in their careers, giving a valuable update on both their work and, more broadly, their journey after art school.