ART IS FIX OF CHOICE

The poster is raw and dark, yet, somehow, still hopeful.

Looming in the forefront of the image are two arms scarred by large track
marks.

Between them is a young woman holding up an emaciated doll-like figure.

"The woman is an angel showing me out of the fires of hell... of
addiction," said Melissa Allen, the artist of the piece, entitled Hope.

Her artwork is part of an exhibition put on by Richmond Addiction Services,
entitled Impressions and Expressions: Youth Images of Addiction and
Recovery, which opens Thursday at the Richmond Cultural Centre.

It's a showcase of 24 pieces produced by young people (ages 13 to 24) who
are still drug addicts, former addicts or simply artists with a strong message.

Allen is a 22-year-old recovering heroin junkie - "Although, I would use
any drug or alcohol that was available to me," she said.

She's been clean for eight months and credits her art with helping her out
of the abyss that was her world since the age of 13.

"I lived within a violent family and drugs were my escape," said Allen. "I
lived on the streets. I suffered through depression and ended up a few
times in the psychiatric ward. But even in those dark moments I could draw
and write poetry."

Allen points to the demon-like face on the right side of her painting.

"He's the darkness of addiction and it shows how distorted your thoughts
and feelings are while using drugs," she said.

Allen herself is now back at school and hopes to study art some day. Also
on display is the work of 17-year-old Kamilla Fakhradov, who, for two
years, sliced at her body with any sharp object she could get her hands on.
Her piece, Self Portrait, is about her journey into the ravages of self
mutilation.

"It's what I would do to myself and how I saw myself," she said. "Even
though I didn't use drugs, I was addicted to mutilating myself."

Fakhradov's other painting, entitled Loner: But when I do Coke I'm Not, is
a powerful reminder of the allure of drugs.

"It's based on friends and family," the young artist said. "Even though I
haven't done cocaine, I know how they feel, because all addicts lack self
worth."

Fakhradov is currently putting together a portfolio for admission into the
Emily Carr School of Art and Design.

Anna McCormick, an addiction specialist at Richmond Addiction Services, is
the brainchild behind this exhibit.

"Young people have a real powerful voice that isn't always listened to, and
they can communicate their experience, fresh views on the world and
imaginative ways of seeing through their art," she said.

"It's very therapeutic for them and it provides an opportunity to express
what addiction is to them in a meaningful and creative way."

McCormick hopes the artists' expressions on addiction and recovery will
inform, stimulate, inspire and provoke thought and dialogue among viewers.

"There are so many assumptions about addicts and many are wrong," she said.
"I hope the public can become more aware about the reality of drug use."

Impressions and Expressions: Youth Images of Addiction and Recovery opens
at the Richmond Cultural Centre Rotunda, 7700 Minoru Gate, this Thursday
from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Come view the work, meet the artists and listen to some music. The exhibit
continues until Nov. 29.