Shuang Zheng

https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/project/510139/cover

While I was converting my research and discussing projects and ideas in our class time, one of my classmates told me that someone in a previous year had tackled a similar subject, so I decided to look into it. I have contacted her and would love to talk further, but I also looked at some of her work and found inspiration and ideas I could adapt or learn from in her intervention. This alumnus ‘ name is Shuang Zheng, who works as an independent illustrator. She also researched eating disorders in young people and wanted to use her creativity to help people suffering from this. She created a self-help guidebook, which could be used by professional institutions, not necessarily as a standalone. This book specifically examines eating disorders in China and helps foster a more accurate perception of food, while also helping people in one’s society or close community better support these individuals. This is hopefully something that can help someone recover in the long term. She created a conceptual model of eating disorders and the different stages of someone who has this disorder, showing when someone is sick, in recovery, and normal, and shows different materials to show the different feelings that come with all of this. She also led art therapy workshops in London to help people become more aware of their feelings. In the book she created, she aims to address the different disorders and how people view them at different points throughout their course, as well as the illnesses that accompany them, and the importance of treating them seriously. (One concern is that if the person does not look ill, people do not think it is a problem; they are just getting too thin or too fat, or just want to lose weight.) This is also a book I would feel comfortable showing to a young child, and I would understand the importance of food and its relationship, because it is not always just about someone’s body but about using food as a regulating tool.