LUNACY

I have struggled with mental health for a long time, I would say for most of my life so far. It is not something I find easy to share with others, so this series is a way for me to communicate this aspect of my life non-verbally.

Mental illness runs in my family and is something I have been witness to since a young age, whether I understood it as mental illness or not. As a child, I remember many nights awaking in the middle of the night to stare at the moon.

“Some say that you should turn your face from the light of the moon. They say it makes you mad.” (Almond 9)

It used to be believed that the moon played a role in mental illness. Hippocrates, sometimes referred to as the ‘Father of Medicine’, wrote in the 5th century “[o]ne who is seized with terror, fright, and madness during the night is being visited by the goddess of the moon.” (McCrae)

“[T]he full moon gets blamed for more disturbances in psychiatric wards – we still use the word “lunatic” to describe mental illness today.” (Krupp 45)

With this knowledge, I took photographs at night within my room, using a torch for illumination if necessary. Some images are staged with tissues and other objects within my room, but others are taken of the room as is. Is it possible to tell the difference? I digitally collage images of eyes with tears, wrinkled dead flowers and appropriated images of the moon onto these photographs as they are imagery and symbols that I relate to mental health issues. A fake moon shines through my window at night whilst the light from the streetlamps stream in. Surrounding this image are smaller photographs, details of tissues, crumpled bed sheets and dead flowers slowly forming out of the darkness. They act as a closer look at the evidence of someone’s struggle with mental health. The evidence someone may be hiding in their room. You cannot always tell if someone has mental health issues and many people choose not to divulge that side of themselves, instead choosing isolation.

Like me, many people struggle with mental health today. Some are not aware that the problems they are facing have anything to do with mental health and end up blaming themselves. Although the stigma surrounding mental health is slowly being lifted and people are now more open to talking about it, it is still something many people keep to themselves and deal with alone. I hope this series can add to the conversation around mental health and let others know that they can share their own experiences and that they are not alone in them.

Works Cited

Almond, David. My Name Is Mina. London: Hodder Children's Books, 2010.

Krupp, E C. "Lunar Influence." Jørgensen, Lærke Rydal and Marie Laurberg. The Moon: From Inner Worlds to Outer Space. Humlebæk: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2018.

McCrae, Niall. The Moon and Madness. Exeter & Charlottesville: Imprint Academic & Andrews UK Limited, 2011.