A PHOTOGRAPHER from Penarth is hoping to create a deeper understanding of depression through her exhibition which opens at the pier pavilion this week.

Conceptual portrait photographer Suzie Larke, 39, is launching the In the Mind's Eye exhibition on Friday (January 19) evening.

Ms Larke is hoping her Arts Council Wales funded project can promote a greater understanding of the experiences of those with depression and help change attitudes towards mental health.

She graduated with a degree in photography, from Falmouth College of Arts, in 2002.

As well as her freelance photography she has worked for Red Bull, National Theatre Wales, Mind Cymru and Combat Stress

She said: "One of the problems with mental illness is that the symptoms are often not outwardly apparent.

"My project In the Mind's Eye is an attempt to visualise depression though conceptual photography, to create images that promote a greater understanding of the spectrum of experiences of depression and to translate what is on the inside offering a more authentic and realistic representation.

"My aim is to add my voice to the campaign for a change in attitudes towards people with mental illness in the hope that more people realise that metal illness has the potential to touch everyone and the only way forward is to start talking about it."

The exhibition in Penarth runs until March 23 and is part of a touring exhibition across Wales.

She exhibited in Machynlleth in September and October 2017 and will be exhibiting in Aberystwyth from May to July this year.

The formal opening is from 7pm to 10pm on January 19. 

A short documentary about the project will be shown during the opening night.