A NEW exhibition, entitled “I Must Have a Dark Side’’ opened on Saturday at the Barracks, New Norfolk.

Created for the Barracks exhibition space, the artist is Brigita Ozolins and the show is curated by local visual arts coordinator Michelle Dracoulis.

“I must have a dark side also if I am to be whole.”

“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.”

“How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow?” artist Ms Ozolins proposes.

Ms Ozolins uses quotes from psychiatrist Carl Jung in banners to reflect on the history of the Barracks as a psychiatric hospital.

“Jung’s statements capture the complexity of the individual self, and advocate looking inward to understand the true nature of our identity,’’ Ms Ozolins said.

“While there is reference here to the treatment of mental illness, the quotes themselves have broader relevance and offer advice about how to achieve a state of wholeness by accepting not only the light and the good, but the dark side of the self.’’

The exhibition opens at 4pm then from 10 am to 3 pm on weekends until August 22.