[Treyfrancis21]

Not a normal post for me but I'm mixed and bored so what the hell right?

I am using these photos for a BFA show and struggling to pin down my artist statement. The show was inspired by a manic episode and how I see the world due to mental illness.

I'm wondering if people with mental illness can relate to these images and what type of emotional/memory reaction you feel by looking at them. I would greatly appreciate some feedback from someone that can relate with the ups and downs and intense mental states we experience with mental illness. Any help and response would be greatly appreciated.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/pictu...ictureid=51416

http://forums.psychcentral.com/pictu...ictureid=51415

http://forums.psychcentral.com/pictu...ictureid=51414

http://forums.psychcentral.com/pictu...ictureid=51413

[Wander]

I can relate to the one with blue streaks in it. It reminds me of the blur the world turns to when I am manic as everything rushes so fast past me, even when I am standing still. Good luck with your project.

[Row Jimmy]

The third one reminds me of a drop in mood and then a sudden and unexpected change in another direction.

[Crazy Hitch]

Thanks for the pics

Pretty cool.

1st one with curtains -

Reminds me of when I try to block out the past - looks like a curtain drawn closed preventing me from thinking about whatever it is I don't want to think about

Second pic with sparkling lights

That's my hypomania. It looks clear, colourful, bright, cheerful. It just all seems to blend together.

3rd pic with lines

Okay the lines are starting to drop off - still colourful - it would describe a mood of mine that is still on the up side; things still look clear but there is a bit of confusion happening at the ends of the line; possible entry into mania if that were me

4th pic that is blury

That's pure mania for me. I can see nothing. It doesn't make sense. There are clearly some kind of objects on the other side, but my mind simply can not decipher what I am meant to be focusing on or seeing.

[Treyfrancis21]

Thanks you guys for responding. It's very interesting to use these as sort of an inkblot for BP. I really love to create work that connects with people with whom I have commonalities.

[Crazy Hitch]

I'm pretty grateful you shared this

Thank you

First one (gray and black vertical lines)... What came to mind: anhedonia. (Not on the manic side, that's just what came to mind. I've done some stuff on the depressive end of things, so that might skew my perception.)
I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on each one. Maybe you can share that after you get a bunch of feedback/thoughts (or you'd have to put a spoiler alert )
The second one (lights, curls, blue whoosh) ... The blue whoosh, being brighter, is energized, brighter, upward motion, so yeah, like a good hypomania.
Thanks for sharing these! (Btw, I like your avatar. That is also your work, isn't it?)

Number 3- mania.

[S1ppi]

The 4th one jumped out at me, maybe because of the depressed state I'm in at the current time, but for me, the red blur represented what little life I have left within me, burning out.

S1ppi

1200mg Lithium
20 mg Latuda
200mg Lamictal
100mg Topamax

[gagrl]

The first one struck me the most. At first it reminded me of lines I use to draw with a charcoal pencil when I was depressed. I would smudge until the lines looked like a prison keeping me inside. After further inspection, the image looked more like blinds closed tightly shut... kind of the same... trapped. Thanks for sharing!

[raspberrytorte]

These are cool. Thanks for sharing. I especially liked the last two. On an MI level I didn't relate, but still liked.

Are they photographs? How were these created? I just wonder these things.

[Treyfrancis21]

Originally Posted by Innerzone

First one (gray and black vertical lines)... What came to mind: anhedonia. (Not on the manic side, that's just what came to mind. I've done some stuff on the depressive end of things, so that might skew my perception.)
I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on each one. Maybe you can share that after you get a bunch of feedback/thoughts (or you'd have to put a spoiler alert )
The second one (lights, curls, blue whoosh) ... The blue whoosh, being brighter, is energized, brighter, upward motion, so yeah, like a good hypomania.
Thanks for sharing these! (Btw, I like your avatar. That is also your work, isn't it?)

Maybe I'll give my thoughts after a few more people respond. Yes, my avatar is a self portrait shot on film 11 years ago after my son passed away. I really like getting feedback on my work, it's so interesting to have something so non objective be interpreted in so many different and personal ways.

[Treyfrancis21]

Originally Posted by raspberrytorte

These are cool. Thanks for sharing. I especially liked the last two. On an MI level I didn't relate, but still liked.

Are they photographs? How were these created? I just wonder these things.

Thank you! Yes, these are photographs. I'm not a huge fan of skewing reality with photoshop and editing, so these are all shot in camera. The light paintings were done by a combination of long exposure, change in focal length, and change in focus.

Curious that none of them sparked a similarity with mood states...maybe I'll have to post a few more when I get home.

[Living Dead Guy]

1&3 didn't do anything for me

But 2 if you flip it horizontally is how I see the world after about a week and a half of no sleep. The orange in particular makes me think of tailights.

4 is soothing to me somehow. Just a general melancholy. A feeling that I've seen it before and it was good times that I won't experience again. It kind of reminds me of a Leonid Afremov painting of a park after its rained.