Artistic healing of post-disaster people through fibre art

. At the start of 2020, novel coronavirus swept the world, bringing cities to a halt and economies to a standstill. For months, mental health became an urgent concern in the wake of the epidemic. Art healing as an interdisciplinary psycho therapeutic approach combining art, psychology and medicine is gaining more and more attention and attention and numerous public art exhibitions have emerged. Fibre art, as a branch of art, has its origins in the ancient Western art of tapestry, but in the course of its development it has fused the best traditional textile cultures of the world and incorporated modern art concepts, making it an older and younger art form than other art forms, and a more positive exploration of the value of art for the psychological healing of people in post-disaster situations. In this paper, we focus on the advantages of fibre art for post-disaster psychological treatment and the mode and role of psychological intervention, and consider and explore the methods of fibre art therapy applied to post-disaster psychological intervention, as well as the development and innovation of psychological relief methods.


Background to the selection of the topic
The impact of Newcastle pneumonia on the world is undoubtedly enormous. At the height of the epidemic, infected patients are constantly worried about the uncertainty of the outcome of the disease, and those who are not infected are faced with the constant fear of the possibility of being infected, combined with changes in lifestyle and social interaction. Appropriate mild fears, anxieties and complaints are normal psychological reactions. These emotions and behaviours, if guided positively, can help individuals or groups to take effective emergency measures, which can have some positive effects and promote the health of individuals and groups. However, adverse emotions and excessive reactions can lead to a range of psychological problems and even to psychological disorders. The main psychological risks of a new pneumonia epidemic include acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, fear, depression and anxiety, which often affect the recovery of infected patients and trigger the development of psychosomatic disorders in uninfected residents. Therefore, these psychological problems need to be identified and targeted early. The progress of prevention efforts in China and the data from a number of studies indicate that the psychological problems of our population need urgent attention.
One study searched the Web of Science database for the keywords "neoconiosis" and "psychosocial health" to retrieve the global literature on the mental health impact of the neoconiosis pandemic from the first publication to 27 June 2021, using HistCite, Biblic ometrix, the R package and the VOS viewer were used to conduct a comprehensive analysis of bibliometric indicators. A total of 5,449 publications were retrieved from the database and, overall, the articles retrieved were authored by 24,123 authors and published in 1,224 journals representing 132 countries, with an average citation per article of 10.01%. The United States accounted for the largest share of publications in the "New Coronary Pneumonia" mental health pandemic with 1,157 (21.23%), followed closely by China with 741 publications (13.60%). These figures show that public mental health is indeed a concern for scholars in all countries.

Purpose of the study
Among the many psychotherapeutic tools available, art therapy is a very effective means of healing the mental health of people in post-disaster situations. "In the 1990s, Art Therapy began to emerge in the art world in China, and gradually formed a systematic academic research direction in the process of finding its own discourse. The concept of "art therapy" was first introduced in the 1930s by Margaret Naumburg, an American psychiatrist, and was mainly based on music, painting, dance and theatre. The aim is to bring about an interdisciplinary blend of art and medicine that helps people to stimulate their inner potential and achieve a balance between mind and body. It focuses on the conscious and subconscious mind, staying true to the individual's original, authentic and fundamental psychic impulses and tapping into them to achieve spiritual healing. It is a reciprocal relationship, where the role of art tends to be that of a guide rather than a director, and where the person being treated is not purely interfered with by the art, but rather experiences it to alleviate internal and external conflicts and enhance selfawareness. At a time when there is a pressing need to alleviate the mental health problems arising from the epidemic, fibre art, because of its soft material, can be used to a great extent to alleviate the anxiety caused by the epidemic, through the physical experience of the therapist, i.e. the visual and tactile senses, and can have a soothing and soothing effect. During its development, fibre art has continued to absorb the cultures of different regions and carry different civilisations. In terms of materials and methods of creation, it has broken away from the old patterns and developed in a diversified direction. At a time when hard materials and plastic products are flooding the world, fibre art, with its own softness, is a warming current. In terms of healing mental health, fibre art continues to renew its forms of expression and to explore the different effects of different materials on psychological interventions for people in post-disaster situations, which has positive implications for research in the field of art therapy.

Current status of domestic and international research
Fibre art is a material-first art, and apart from being a soft and approachable material, it can also have a variety of textures, but different materials convey very different feelings. Through the expression of different materials, the soothing value to the psychological well-being of people in the aftermath of a disaster also varies. In this regard, fibre artists from home and abroad have made a series of useful explorations that are feasible in the process of psychological healing.

Current status of fibre arts interventions in psychological interventions in China
Hong Kong fibre artist MaeChan, the subtle emotions of happiness, sadness and warmth harvested from film and the everyday often appear in the work, conveying Chan's sensual perceptions of the world through the use of soft or hard materials. These soft and hard materials present smooth, soft lines that depict the breath, temperature and weight that one experiences in the intimate act of touch. The hard materials and soft textiles rely on and touch each other in the same space, revealing the complexity of human relationships where tenderness and boundaries coexist. In his sculpture HUGGING PORTRAITS: INTIMACY/BOUNDARY (Fig. 1, Fig. 2), the artist uses the theme of 'hugging', based on tactile materials, gentle colours and shapes, to delve into the human emotions that lie beneath this intimate gesture. The viewer's visual experience is one of loveliness and tranquillity, while the tactile sensation of the felt product is one of warmth and comfort.

Current status of fibre arts interventions in psychological interventions abroad
The materials in fibre art works have specific textures (e.g. denim, wax, sandpaper, silk, etc.) which, along with the textures and textures, may evoke life experiences and emotional changes in a particular viewer. In 2008 V.S. Ramachandran and David Brang of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego, conducted an eight-month experimental study on the 'tactile-emotional association'. experimental study. By touching specific textured fabrics such as denim, wax, sandpaper and silk, the subjects elicited different emotions such as depression, embarrassment, relief and satisfaction. This study provides a new and precise way to understand how the brain functions. If an artist creates art in a loving way, what is the feeling that he presents to the public or involves them in it? Here again Ernesto Nieto's public installations are mentioned, where he uses techniques such as crochet, learned from his grandmother and aunt, to make soft biomorphic installations, while surprising substances appear in the works, such as spices, sweets, sand, coloured polypropylene foam, etc., and in some cases the presence of nature's sounds. His works are a full-sensory experience for the viewer, at times they relate to the human body and at other times they resemble human organs. As he describes himself, "My work is an exploration and representation of the physical landscape from within, and it is most important that the visitor should move and interact with the work personally, through physical contact, scent, etc." In his tactile experience installation (Fig. 3), the viewer can enter the interior of the work, lie down in the huge soft surface, let their body be buried in the work, and come into contact with it to feel the security of being wrapped and protected. In the process, the viewer's entire body and mind are relaxed and soothed, curing the stress and tension of fastpaced urban life.  Figure 4) that takes place every two years, more than twenty years since its inception, and whose themes explore joy, inspiration, spirituality, healing and more. The participants in this biennial exhibition are quilters who see their work as a connection to something sacred. It is the ideal place for them to share their quilting experiences and spiritual journeys with others. In 1999, founder Viki Pignard and other committee members wanted to create an exhibition of dignified artwork, a 'new' kind of quilting. At the time, themes such as spirituality and inspiration were not always understood or welcomed in traditional quilt exhibitions, and the meaning behind these works was often overlooked or misunderstood, as the artists did not have the opportunity to share their inspirations with the audience. According to Vicky, "In these busy times, where people are searching for meaning and spirituality in their busy lives, we felt that this concept would be accepted and welcomed." In the exhibition, the quilts are divided into different categories based on their themes. These are expressions of joy, spirituality, inspiration, sadness, healing, and peace. The works all contain thought-provoking insights, encouragement, inspiration, and a desire to respond to and heal human suffering and sorrow. The exhibition has attracted a large number of visitors and has proven to be applicable to all ages from teenagers to the elderly. The exhibition has had a positive impact on the human spirit, bringing joy and providing an outlet for the confusion of the soul and mind.

Research implications
Over a long course of time, fibre fabrics have evolved from traditional crafts to tapestries and wall hangings, and then to fibre art with a strong visual sense of touch and inner experience. By touching the material, one feels the surface characteristics of the material and develops a psychological perception of the material, which is the human sensory expression of the fibre material. Different fabrics have different textures and textures that mobilise people's sensory perceptions and drive psychological responses such as a sense of security, warmth or greyness. This suggests that fibre materials are suggestive of sensory emotions, and that artists also communicate their inner emotions and share their space of self to us through the properties of fibre materials themselves; becoming a medium for perceiving society, connecting to society and reacting to society. Through the study of these cases, the author believes that there must be a specific artistic value to an art form that has been passed down. A large part of the reason why fibre art is more tactilely beautiful than other art forms is that fibre art and fabrics bring the viewer a tactile experience and healing effect that other art forms cannot.

Research content
In this paper, firstly, I searched for relevant literature and data on post-disaster psychological populations from hospitals and websites, collected the research results and conducted a detailed analysis, and then searched for theories on the effectiveness of art in healing psychological problems to form the basis of this thesis. Secondly, through the study of domestic and international cases of psychological healing through fibre art, I found that fibre art has advantages for the psychological healing of post-disaster people, and that there is a lack of research in this area in China. Based on the research questions, I propose solutions in the hope that fibre art will have a positive impact on the treatment of post-disaster mental health problems.

The superiority of fibre arts for psychological healing
In the development of human art, the sense of touch is a mode of transmission that has not been widely discussed in comparison to the visual. In fact, artists have been using the sense of touch for a long time, especially since the Second World War, and with the change in viewing styles and aesthetic thinking, new media art related to technology, as well as fibre art, have explored the sense of touch in depth, and a large number of theories and creative practices have emerged that are valuable for the development of future art. In this study, the author collected 438 data in the form of questionnaires. In terms of data, 86.71% of people felt emotionally anxious and depressed by the epidemic (Figure 5), 80.95% of people believed that artistic activities could relieve their emotions ( Figure 6), 33.33% of people believed that fibre could cure mental illness or relieve low mood, 33.33% of people who did not believe 14.29%, and those who did not know 33.33% (Figure 7), although the data is limited, it reflects the current state of people's psychological dilemma under the epidemic. At present, psychological counselling centres mainly use relaxation apparatus, cathartic apparatus, psychological counselling, group counselling and sand tray as means of intervention. There are relaxation apparatus such as massage chairs or musical relaxation beds and visual cathartic apparatus of beating or shouting, which are all common ways and means of psychological relief. There are unique advantages to the use of fibre art in the post-disaster psychological support of people. There is an old Chinese saying that 'seeing is believing', but with the explosion of images brought about by the information age, in life and in art, what is seen is not necessarily true. As information becomes more complex than ever, and often leads to emptiness and doubt, the sense of touch becomes an important basis for confirming reality. This is probably the reason why many ordinary visitors to the exhibition are increasingly tempted to touch the works, even if this is not allowed. From the foetal age, humans have relied on the sense of touch to perceive and understand the world, and the sense of touch precedes the sense of sight. In the nature of vision, reflected light enters the eye and is transmitted to the nerves, which can be understood fundamentally as a 'touch' of light, with its own physical texture. The touch of a warm, soft fibre fabric creates an instinctive psychological response to return to the womb, where the sense of touch originates. Along with the development of civilisation, fibres and fabrics have continued to record and bear witness to human life and history. From the swaddling clothes of a baby, to everyday clothing, to the shroud at the end of life, from birth to death, fabric has been an intimate companion throughout one's life. Moreover, due to its unique material and artistic language, fibre art can produce a certain artistic healing effect, which is achieved through the tactile experience.

Felt wool -easy mood shift
Wool is a special material with a fine, soft, malleable texture that feels good to the touch. The first thing experienced when the hands come into contact with wool is the warmth and softness of the wool, which invariably gives the experience a preconceived sense of accessibility and relaxation. This cathartic way of perceiving the wool fibres with the hands has a special effect that sandboxes, percussion machines and musical beds do not have. There are basically two ways of making wool felts, wet and dry (Fig. 8, Fig. 9). Wet felts are made by wetting the wool and repeatedly rubbing it through a foam net until it felts. Dry felting is a continuous poking process with a needle, resulting in a figurative or abstract object. The soft wool fibres are then rubbed or poked in the hands of the experiencer, either in a ventilating or relaxing way, to relieve anxiety and irritation to some extent. Wool felts can be stiff, soft, squeezable, and qualitative. Wool fibres can be shaped into a variety of objects due to their elasticity and portability, and their unique 'memory' function helps them to shape and retain their shape. The experience allows the user to work alone without guidance. This provides a form of catharsis for people who are housebound and unable to travel in an epidemic. It can be both completely cathartic and immersive in a calm, peaceful creation, thus transforming aggressive expressions of self into wool felting and emotional transformation.

Embroidery -sending words and emotions
Embroidery is the main technique of fabric expression in traditional societies, both in China and abroad, and is a language of fabric. For thousands of years China's history has been characterised by the social structure of male cultivation and female weaving, with women spending most of their time at home making 'women's red', which has developed as a result. In traditional societies, women were oppressed by social conventions, so they often unleashed their nature, creativity and imagination to express their feelings and hopes for life through needle and thread, creating a pattern that represented a vision of beauty and creating embroidery that embodied their true intentions. In today's society, embroidery is no longer 'exclusive' to women, it is simply a material, a medium for expressing one's emotions, and it is not about gender. People can use the needle as a brush and the thread as ink to draw their personal expectations on the fabric. Those who are reluctant to talk to others about what is on their mind can express it through embroidery, telling their repressions and dissatisfactions in a single stitch, a seemingly simple and mechanical action that gradually, stitch by stitch, embroiders the whispers of self into the fabric. This can help chronically depressed, introverted people under the epidemic to soothe their anxieties in a way that is more acceptable to them. From the beginning of the first stitch to the end of the last, inner contentment builds up under this calm, steady act. Each stitch is used as an emotional prayer, presenting the inner trust in the form of an embroidered pattern, finding peace and hope in the embroidery. Contemporary embroidery is not only a traditional, conservative craft, but also a medium for carrying emotional thoughts, carrying the whispers behind each stitch of the embroiderer, which allows the embroiderer to better express her inner feelings and seek self-worth and social identity in embroidery.

Weaving techniques -combining creation and use
Weaving is an ancient art, and in the early days of its development, people used different materials and different weaving techniques to create handmade products, which were mainly used for everyday warmth and protection. Weaving has survived and developed throughout history, thanks in large part to the fact that in the development and progress of society, the craft of weaving has not been eliminated in the course of time, but has gradually demonstrated its intrinsic beauty over the course of history. There are many different methods of hand weaving, and most of the knotting methods in woven works are derived from the reorganisation of the basic knotting methods, and there are many common basic knotting methods, such as the flat knot, the weighing knot, the concentric knot, the double money knot, the ten mouth knot and so on. In contemporary fibre art design, the weaving process itself has a unique charm and artistic connotation, combined with the rich combination of materials, which creates a three-dimensional texture on the surface of the fibre art work. In addition to the sophistication of weaving techniques and skills, the materials used in weaving techniques are abundant. The texture and physical properties of the fibres themselves, combined with the appropriate techniques, are very reminiscent of natural landscapes, and it is easy to see how the different textures and unique properties of the fibres can stimulate the imagination. From a psychological point of view, it satisfies the aesthetic mind. The physical properties of the fibre materials themselves are such that they are malleable. Artists take advantage of this to rework and redesign fibre materials, incorporating the ideas they wish to convey into their works, creating beautiful and unique textures, diverse visual forms and powerful tactile sensations. For example, Brooklyn-based artist Orly Genger's giant installation Puzzlejuice ( fig. 10) uses colourful nylon materials to braid and knot in order to bring out the bold and intense tension of a powerful, unrestricted artistic style. In the "Blue Report" (fig.11), an artist from Bulgaria, Wan Man, uses hemp fiber materials to highlight the sense of simplicity and purity, exuding a strong expressive force in tranquility. In Vilt wand (fig. 12), Friesland-based fibre artist Claudy Jongstra uses woollen fibre to create a dense and delicate texture, giving a sense of introspective beauty. For the creator, the tactile sensation of the weaving process prompts a constant exploration of the self, a transformation of the self and a connection to the dimension of time; for the user, knitting always seems to be a part of life, it is the part of man-made objects that brings the most warmth and comfort. Thus, the craft of weaving can heal the self as well as warm others.

High added value of aesthetic education
With the easy acceptance and low impedance of fibre art, it is used to popularise Chinese textile art in an aesthetic way, in addition to releasing psychological pent-up negative energy and self-attacking emotions at special times in the psyche. China has a long history of textiles, with textile art having a glittering history as far back as the Neolithic era, over 7,000 years ago. As early as the Republic of China, Mr. Cai Yuanpei was famous for proposing the idea of "replacing religion with aesthetic education", and he spared no effort in advocating aesthetic education throughout his life. In an era when material civilisation is growing and spiritual issues are becoming more prominent, aesthetic sensibilities and aesthetic education will become an indispensable factor in building a harmonious society, and for every citizen of society, it is about the ability to feel the beauty of life and maintain a healthy mind. Fibre art can serve as an important means of national aesthetic education, not only as a refresher for the minds of contemporary Chinese people, but also as a means of evoking a sense of preservation and heritage and pride in national culture. From these perspectives, the use of fibre art as a means of psychological intervention has a high added value.

Specific models and methods of psychological healing through fibre arts 7.1 Big data analysis methods
Big data is used to gain a comprehensive understanding of the psychological situation of people in special times (during psychological distress) and to define the content, methods and steps of the study. Especially during epidemics, it is effective to use big data information collection to monitor the situation of people in each institution. In addition to the physical condition and whereabouts of these people, the information collection also requires a mapping of their mental health. Once the results are tallied, counselling and interventions are targeted at those who are mentally and emotionally disturbed. The direct link between big data information collection, analysis and fibre art lies in "prescribing the right medicine", as not everyone seeking psychological intervention is suitable for fibre art as a means of intervention, as the type and severity of people's psychological problems, personality traits, majors and interests are all factors to be assessed, and it is even possible to directly use fibre art as a choice of interest in the questionnaire for people to fill in. Once the big data has been collected, counsellors can carry out professional assessments based on the data information and identify people who would like to use fibre art for psychological intervention. This group of people can use the immersive experience of a fibre art exhibition to relieve their anxiety, or they can make their own fibre artwork to release stress, offering the possibility of self-visualisation and selfhealing.

Immersive Experience Integration Method
With the advent of the information age, art therapy has been able to move from offline to online, and fibre art needs to be more attuned to human emotions and experiences, catering to the original intention of humancentred design. As a communal cultural activity, immersive fibre art reconnects the viewer with themselves, others, nature and society, allowing people to feel calm and content in a virtual space, while briefly forgetting the problems and dilemmas faced in the real world, a characteristic that provides a precondition for emotional healing. As an emerging art form, and with the development of digital technology gradually maturing, immersive fibre art is becoming more and more popular. As a multi-sensory and interactive artistic presentation, fibre art through immersive expression is more capable of mobilising people's subjective emotions, providing a more appropriate aesthetic distance and breaking the sense of distance of presence. Ernesto Neto, for example, argues that "of all the powerful sensory fields, the tactile one is the most intellectual and emotionally rich." Many of his works intensify the tactile experience, such as his Humanoids Family series ( fig. 13), in which soft, formless white masses envelop the viewer and become part of the body, leaving the viewer feeling protected and warm. At the same time, the viewer himself embraces the warmth of the work, protecting and warming it. In the process, the viewer becomes a member of the 'humanoid racial family'. The viewer is a human being, and the viewer makes the work more human, conveying care and warmth to the work.

Music-assisted completion method
In a specific space in the counselling centre, the psychologist will have a brief conversation with the patient during the visit and, depending on the patient's situation, will distribute safe fibre materials and then guide the student to feel the temperature and texture of the materials with his hands and to enter gradually into the creation of fibre art. Music is played as needed, the type of music is chosen according to the basic condition of the client, and the music is used to guide the client's emotions through the exposure therapy, as he or she dwells on his or her difficult memories. The psychologist will record the expressions and experiences in writing and guide the client step by step to fully express and release the emotions in a fully emotional state using fibre art. There are commonalities but individual differences in the visitors. Generally speaking, for those who are affected by the epidemic, stressed and feeling depressed, folk songs are usually chosen to assist in guiding them; for those who are anxious and irritable, deep songs are usually chosen to assist; for those who are bored and sad, upbeat music is usually chosen. Of course the author mentions only some case studies, depending on the actual situation, professional counsellors will have music options that fit better.

Not enough
The introduction of fibre arts into counselling rooms is not common in China, and there are very few institutions with fibre arts counselling centres in the country. However, psychological counselling and psychological guidance is a rigorous science and must have a complete and scientific assessment system, both in terms of operating statutes and techniques and in terms of post-indicator and intervention effect assessment, which needs to be supported by a basis of data and theoretical transformation. The introduction of fibre art into psychological interventions currently lacks a complete and rigorous evaluation system. Of course, with the increasing popularity of fibre art interventions in psychological counselling, it is believed that the relevant evaluation system will become increasingly rigorous and complete.

Improvement measures
To strengthen the interdisciplinary training of counselling staff, it is well known that counselling belongs to the branch of psychology and its research involves perception, cognition, emotions, thinking, personality, behavioural habits, interpersonal relationships, social relationships, I Q, personality and many other areas, and also with many areas of daily life -family, education, health, society and so on. In fact, many of the humanities, arts and natural sciences are related to psychology, and human psychological activity is itself inextricably linked to the human condition. Therefore, a good counsellor must have a wealth of humanistic and artistic qualities. Strengthening the artistic and humanistic qualities of counselling staff is one of the important tasks of current counselling centres. China is a vast country, and each region has its own unique national art. Under the current situation of integration and synergistic innovation of various disciplines, the interdisciplinary integration of fibre art and psychology will not only enrich the psychologists' after-school life and knowledge of national culture and art, but also enrich their technical means and methods in the professional field of psychological counselling.
In addition to the above measures, more fibre art exhibitions can be organised to allow the viewer to experience the comfort of fibre materials for the soul while touching the fibre art work; each fibre material brings a different feeling and has a different healing effect on the soul. The immersive experience of a fibre art exhibition is a dialogue between the work and the viewer, as well as between the creator and the audience.

Conclusion
Art comes from life and is the art that is closest to people. Fibre art, as an art with an ancient heritage and a youthful and innovative approach, displays a unique charm in terms of its self-attribution, its form and the expression of its textual language. The relationship between art and the mind has been a concern since ancient Greece. The development of the spiritual civilisation of society encompasses the field of art therapy, which deals with the nature of art, the spirit of society, and the relationship between art and society. And fibre art, which has a long history as an expression of the development of human civilisation, carries with it ancient techniques, cultures and beliefs. Its own special properties allow one to perceive it in terms of sight and touch, and thereby gain a psychological perception of traumatic memories, inner spirit, history, society, space and so on. Fibre art becomes the spiritual bridge that opens the communication between the understanding of the self and the external world for the post-disaster psychiatric patient.