A woman in Baltimore, Maryland, freaked out while waiting for her doctor’s appointment at a local hospital. The reason? Multiple disturbing paintings were on full display for everyone to watch, prompting many to ask for their removal for their triggering potential.
The video was shared on TikTok by user 1Wayda (Wayda). Her previous content is a mix of photos and cooking montages she casually uploaded from time to time. The clip attached above went viral, becoming her biggest one yet by garnering 2.9 million views, 634,200 likes, and more than 27,300 comments.
The Maryland woman was waiting for her doctor’s appointment at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. While she sat down, she began recording the waiting room walls, where multiple disturbing paintings were on full display. With the use of countless expletives, she reacted accordingly.
“All these [expletive] eyes just staring at me,” she said. “This [expletive] don’t look pleasant. It looks scary. I don’t know who the [expletive] told y’all to do all this abstract [expletive] art.”
While Wayda did find the art impressive, she was still creeped out by it, especially in the context of a hospital waiting room.
Turns out, the exhibit does serve a specific purpose. According to Closler, the exhibit is called “Art for Hope,” by Colorado-based artist William Stoehr. He himself wrote that his art is focused on “eliminating the stigma of substance use disorder and its related mental health issues.”
“My exhibitions, along with presentations and discussions, are meant to cut through the wall of stigma, to confront the mental health issues, to start conversations, to cause people to respond, feel the emotion, and to take action before it is too late,” Stoehr added.
Maryland Reacts
One could argue he achieved his goal, as all 36 raw, expressionistic paintings do evoke such a response. Some, however, believed the exhibit was too extreme for some patients, sparking multiple reactions. One said, “That feels demonic. I would’ve left.” Another one commented, “As someone with mental health issues, this is very triggering.”
Others raised race-based concerns after noticing an apparent trend in the paintings. One wrote, “The way it’s all black folk too. This feels like a threat/warning.” Another one asked, “Why is it only black folks?“
The overall consensus seemed to agree with Wayda’s opinion. The paintings are well-made, but the exhibit seemed misplaced.
