Schizofrenia

Mental disorders are something that naturally evokes fear inside us. I find them particularly interesting. At all costs I try to understand, how it comes about that a person loses their mind.

We often only notice the shell of a human - the appearance and the behaviour - which is the outermost part of a person. However, there is something behind it all - it is the brain and the biochemical reactions within it. Inside it, our neurons are like wires in an electrical system. They carry information from the corners of our brain, turning them into a visible manifestation - into the behaviour.
Sometimes this electrical installation does not work properly. Some areas receive too many impulses, and some too few. When this happens, our brain can misinterpret reality, which translates into our behaviour. This is what happens inside a person with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is often seen as one of the worse things that can happen to a person. Many people still believe, that there is no way out of the disease. This is a harmful misconception that often leads to stigmatisation of people with schizophrenia, for whom emotional support is particularly important.

I hope that my painting will affect the way we approach the treatment of mental disorders and will allow people to better understand the situation of a sick person. I would like to move away from the stereotypical view of this disease and present it in brighter colours.

That is why I focused on the 'enlightenment' phase, when the sick person often feels that they have superhuman powers and have been chosen by God to save the world.