JAYNE HARDING
"Reflection into Madness"
On looking into the theme of Bipolar Depression, one thing that intrigued me the most is ‘Rapid Cycling’ or ‘Bipolar II disorder’. A person may experience depressive stages and hypomanic stages, never reaching an uncontrollably mania phase. And back in the Victorian era, any form of depression was considered madness. But at what point can these cycles by diagnosed as Bipolar? Can it be considered abnormal to cycle from negative to positive moods? Surely to recognise highs, you must experience lows? This 3D piece started off as a work to express the cycles that people who suffer with Bipolar face. Then I began to realise; We all face days of low point. No reasoning behind why we want to not care. We also all experience seemingly unexplainable positive days. Does that mean we as a human race are designed to live with cycles? Or do we all have a touch of chemical imbalance causing our moods to switch? Therefore this piece took on a new meaning for me. A reflective panel in the background allows you to catch glimpses of your own reflection, caught between the highs and lows. As Aristotle said: “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” |