and then the wolves invite me to dance
[Award of Excellence, The Alexia Vision Grant, The Alexia]
Schizophrenia is a complicated mental illness characterized by differences
in perception, thought, emotions, and behavior. Though not as common
as other mental illnesses (schizophrenia affects about 24 million people
worldwide), the burden of the disease is substantial. People with schizophrenia
are more likely to be unemployed, houseless, or living in poverty. They are also
two to three times more likely to die younger than the general population.
Those living with schizophrenia face a double illness: Schizophrenia itself
and the associated stigma and discrimination, which tragically impact people’s lives and treatment and often result in human rights violations. The media
and entertainment industry has had a central role in creating and maintaining
wrong ideas about the condition. For example, although people with schizophrenia
are often portrayed as violent, most are more likely to be victims of violence. With this project, we aim to highlight that we all exist in a continuum between
normality and abnormality and that, regardless of where we find ourselves
in that continuum, we all deserve respect, dignity, and equality. Here, I present a brief selection of portraits, testimonies,
and more abstract images that attempt to represent perceptual experiences
(e.g., hallucinations) described by those who are part of the project and developed
in collaboration with them. Most of the work presented has been imagined, created, and selected through discussions with each of the individuals part of the project.
collaborative zine, 2024
{reflecting on portraits and their making, past and present}
performative dinner, FOTODOK, 2024
{zine + framed portraits on dinner tables + reading:
crazy, psycho, insane, mad, violent, scary, loonie, nuts, retard. again, but now feel these words as they were being used to describe you or someone you love. crazy, psycho, insane, mad, violent, scary, loonie, nuts, retard.
the people portrayed in the frames live with schizophrenia. some have been houseless, some have had bursts of violent behavior towards others; but mostly themselves. all have been victims. of stigma, of human rights violations, of ignorance.
the people portrayed in the frames happen to live with schizophrenia. Their names are Danny, Lily, Michelle, and Leon. And they’re not crazy or psychos. Danny, Lily, Michelle, and Leon are just like you and i}
Ramon Van den Engel