Exploring Divisions with the Self

Having been inspired by the experience of watching an individual engage so vividly with their delusions, I decided to research the ways in which delusion and detachment from reality have been explored within the world of psychiatry within the past fifty years. In doing so, I found a powerful article written by a man whose marriage had been completely reshaped by the mental illness of his partner, titled 'My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward'. Within this article, the controversial argument is raised that ' the behaviour of psychotics was not de facto bad', and that 'perhaps they were making legitimate attempts to communicate thoughts and feelings that conventional society did not permit.' The foundations of this particular argument lie within the book written by R.D Laing, 'The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness' published in 1960, which suggests that 'the cracked mind of the psychotic may let in light which does not enter the intact minds of many sane people whose minds are closed.' In addition, I also began to read extracts of Michel Foucault's 'Madness and Civilization' published in 1964, which explored the tormented relationship between madness and art. 'Within works of art inspired by madness, complex processes operate. Madness is linked to creativity, but yet destroys the work of art. The work of art can reveal the presence of unreason, but yet unreason is the end of the work of art.'

During the process of my research, I decided to experiment with the use of film to communicate the divisions within ones self. I also decided that I wanted to use an installation, whereby the film would be projected inside. The thought behind this would be that the enclosed space would help to embody a sense of disjunction between the audience and the outside world. Using raw footage, I experimented with a variation of camera angles in order to capture the sense of displacement about the subject. I used luminous green bubble wrap and basic masking tape as my initial mediums to experiment with the process of 'binding'.

Link to 'My Lovely Wife in the Pysch Ward' - http://www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/lovely-wife-psych-ward-95567