The Chaos and the Calm is a series of surreal portraits that visualise individual cases of mental illness.
These portraits, combined with direct quotes from each subject, convey the instability of mental illness and how they manage it.
Exhibited at Coburg House Art Gallery, Edinburgh, April 2016.
Sophie - Parasite
"I’ve always heard of depression described as a black dog - but I’ve never identified with that. For me, a better analogy is a parasite; vines engulfing a house. At first, you barely notice it. You think you can just shake it off. It saps your energy, just making everything a little harder, until its too hard to do anything at all.”
Craig - Scarred
"If I could describe it I’d say it was like a really slow car on a motor way and everyone whizzing past you at 100mph when you’re only going 30. Or just a simple cut, you cut yourself and its sore at the time, it bleeds. You can see the scabbing and the scarring after, I think that’s what depression is like. It doesn't just stop, it takes time."
Shona - Isolation
“I would wake up feeling anxious and have no particular reason for it. My chest would get tight and I would get what I describe as my anxiety headache. It was a feeling that I couldn't shift and one that got worse as the day got on. I’d feel panicked, trapped and frustrated having got no answer for my feelings. Some days it's small and I'm not really aware of it and some days it's huge and consumes me, I find it harder to get rid of then.”
The Chaos and the Calm is a series of surreal portraits that visualise individual cases of mental illness.
These portraits, combined with direct quotes from each subject, convey the instability of mental illness and how they manage it.
Exhibited at Coburg House Art Gallery, Edinburgh, April 2016.
Sophie - Parasite
"I’ve always heard of depression described as a black dog - but I’ve never identified with that. For me, a better analogy is a parasite; vines engulfing a house. At first, you barely notice it. You think you can just shake it off. It saps your energy, just making everything a little harder, until its too hard to do anything at all.”
Craig - Scarred
"If I could describe it I’d say it was like a really slow car on a motor way and everyone whizzing past you at 100mph when you’re only going 30. Or just a simple cut, you cut yourself and its sore at the time, it bleeds. You can see the scabbing and the scarring after, I think that’s what depression is like. It doesn't just stop, it takes time."
Shona - Isolation
“I would wake up feeling anxious and have no particular reason for it. My chest would get tight and I would get what I describe as my anxiety headache. It was a feeling that I couldn't shift and one that got worse as the day got on. I’d feel panicked, trapped and frustrated having got no answer for my feelings. Some days it's small and I'm not really aware of it and some days it's huge and consumes me, I find it harder to get rid of then.”
