Welcome to episode 183 with The Artist Taxi Driver, who is an artist, taxi driver, educator and speaker who is also known as Mark McGowan. Mark discovered art as part of his mental health recovery when he was an inpatient.  He uses the media, activism and mental health to create daily artworks. Mark’s form of performance art over the years has included eating a swan in protest against royalty and the upper classes, he attempted to cartwheel 60 miles along Brighton beach in protest against diminishing coast lines and he has crawled for sixty miles, with a rose between his teeth, 18 boxes of chocolates tied to him and a sign on his back saying ‘Could You Love Me?’ this was to make people think about those who are alone at Christmas. In this episode I chat to Mark about performance art and how he got started.  We chat about self-expression, addiction, social media, the power of performance and all sorts of other things. We also chat about the Live Lounge exhibition that Mark is curating at The Bethlem Gallery, what he’s got plans and some of the things happening there between now and July. You can read more about it here Exhibition: Bethlem Live Lounge - Bethlem Gallery   You can follow Mark on social media @theartisttaxidriver and look at his art work here: TheArtistTaxiDriver - Etsy UK   If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you’ll get early access to any and all episodes that aren’t available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You’ll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!