Artist statment
Buddha said that “life is pain” but I think with the right tools of the mind we can learn to live with it.
Personally, I have witnessed a lot of my closest friends go through tough times, especially in the transition from youth to adult. I have watched people I love suffer from a constant inner conflict that lowers their self-esteem and prevents them from achieving their ambitions. Without the proper help they sink into a spiral, where it only gets harder and harder to get out of.
A diagnosis is not a cure, but it helped many I know feel more equipped to handle their everyday struggles. Understanding their own patterns led to some peace of mind. I see in my friends and family that the most important thing for them is being more capable of identifying what they might be dealing with, which has had a major impact on their lives for better and worse. Through these shocks of reality, realising who they might really be, they were able to, not just to heal their past wounds, but also start to learn to live with themselves.
Having my upbringing in Denmark, I feel like youths’ mental health has become a hot topic these later years; so I know my experiences are not unique.
This is definitely a hard topic to be talking about for anyone, but I am very hopeful when people who need help start seeking it, and the public starts to have a more open debate about mental well-being, and different organisations work for the cause.
Bipolar
As the artist of this work I am more focused on how to find a figurative language that describes this topic. But if you think bipolar might affect you or just interested in what it means in more technical terms, reach out to a professional.
For me this was a topic close to home, as the debate of mental welfare is a big topic in Denmark and I would like to take part in the discussion and keep the narrative going.
You can watch this video if you would like to know more about bipolar disorder; I found it to be very informative.
Figurative language
When coming up with the picture for my work I leaned into what it means to be bipolar. The wide differences between up and down, manic and depressive episodes. I imagine this would feel like an internal conflict, almost like a split in identity.
In my sketching process the split faces were the strongest and most direct imagery of the concept I could come up with. Different faces with many expressions and a clear spacing between them, but connected by colour and an outer line. This shows one person with many moods.
The numerous faces are a symbol for how many stages of bipolar there are when you talk about it in a psychiatric way.
Technique behind the work
The piece is made out of thin sheet metal, all cut by hand and welded together, and finally sanded. To give it the brown colour I baked all the different faces in an oven, where the heat extracted the colour from the metal. Afterwards, I lacquered it all with a clear coat.
This piece donated to Pyskiatrifonden (https://psykiatrifonden.dk/) witch is an organisationen that works with mental healthcare.
