A View from the Inside: Portraying the Experience of Mental Illness

As a visual artist working in an academic context, I propose to create a series of large-scale photographic portraits of people with short-term psychotic disorders or episodic conditions like schizophrenia. These images will challenge the viewer to readdress his or her ideas about 'the type of people' represented. Subjects will be depicted normally, but the settings in which they are located will be altered digitally to coincide with the perceptual experiences described by each person. This interdisciplinary project will draw on the conventions of portraiture, on scientific understandings of the inner worlds of those who experience psychotic states and on the lived experiences of affected individuals. I will use digital manipulation to create images that subvert established pictorial conventions and, in doing so, question conventional ways of thinking about and relating to people with mental illness.

The term psychosis literally means 'abnormal condition of the mind'. It is used to indicate a mental state often described as involving a 'loss of contact with reality'. Schizophrenia is a general term for a group of psychotic disorders characterized by long term disturbances in perception, affect, behaviour, and communication. A person's lived experience of psychosis could be seen to contradict accepted notions of what constitutes 'reality'. In fact, the involuntary loss of a 'normal' sense of reality is an aspect of human experience that remains stigmatized because we cannot account for it. The proposed photographs will form an essential contribution to my ongoing project of making work that challenges established conceptions of the relationships between identity, subjectivity and what is 'normal'. It will build on previous photographic projects such as After Image (1997), 'I' (1999) and Skin (2000), made in collaboration with people with physical disabilities or severe skin conditions.

The imagery I create as a result of this new research will be inspired by the symbolism and style of historical portrait paintings. The purpose of the type of painting that I will refer to is usually to aggrandize and dignify the individual by showing him or her in an ornate interior, or outdoors as a wealthy landowner. In these paintings the subject of the portrait is characterized visually, using a number of symbolic and narrative elements. The subjects of my work will be people whose ability to function within society has been affected by the experience of mental illness. I am interested in the challenge of creating a series of believable, realistic images that reveal something of the chaotic and sometimes incomprehensible inner worlds of the people portrayed. Based on the physiognomic belief that a person's appearance mirrors his or her subjectivity or 'inner' identity, a traditional concern of portraiture has been to create an external 'likeness' of someone. In depicting both the external appearance and the internal experiences of the subjects, I aim to create rich and compelling images that will bring mental health issues into the public domain. These images will also provide a means of publicly representing the experiences of people whose sense of reality does not always coincide with that of 'normal' people.

The principal investigator will manage all the impact activities relating to this project, during both the research and dissemination phases.

Beneficiaries of the project will include people who experience intermittent or short-term psychoses, in particular those who participate in the research. The process of devising a means of visual representation for their unique perceptual experiences should be both cathartic and rewarding for participants of the research phase of the project. As principle investigator I will undertake this research and, under the guidance of staff at Kings College Institute of Psychiatry, will ensure that the research is conducted in such a way that it not only informs the outcome of the project, but is also of maximum benefit to participants themselves. All participants will be free to engage with the project as much or as little as they wish and can withdraw from it at any point. At the end of the grant period each person will be asked to complete a written consent form, giving permission for his or her image to be exhibited publicly.

The photographs will be exhibited in hospitals such as the Maudsley in South London, where patients, families and medical professionals will be able to see them. One of the project partners, Dr Heidi Lemppe, who is a senior qualitative researcher at Kings College and a specialist in medical education, will help to facilitate this exhibition. (Please see attached letter of support from Professor Thornicroft at Kings College Department of Psychiatry). I have a longstanding track record of exhibiting in medical contexts.

The photographs will also be exhibited in art galleries and museums that attract a broad audience, both in this country and abroad. In this case, artists, arts organizations and the gallery going public will benefit from the project.

I am currently in conversation with the Freud museum in North London. This is a new connection, established with a view to exhibiting the photographs at the museum. The context of psychoanalysis will offer a framework for investigating particular theoretical interpretations of what constitutes reality.

The cost of producing the photographs for exhibition will be in the region of £15,000. It is anticipated that the costs of mounting exhibitions, openings and publicity will be covered by the venues.

The public will benefit from seeing the work online. It will be documented at: www.alexawright.com. This site was visited more than 8000 times in 2009. I will upload the works myself, so the cost of this will be minimal.

After winning the 'Beauty' category in Channel 4 Year 1 photography competition an image depicting the hands of a woman with Vitiligo from my previous photographic work 'Skin' (2000) was used by the Vitiligo society in a promotional campaign. Mental health charities such as Mind could benefit in a similar way by using one or more of the photographs from this new series in a promotional or informative context.

At the end of the research period a select group of forty to fifty artists, arts professionals, mental health professionals and service users will be invited to a symposium at University of Westminster on the theme of 'Otherness', with a focus on the role of visual representation of psychological differences.

Copyright for the work will remain with the artist. It is unlikely that the project will generate intellectual property of any commercial value.