HYSTERIA

Hysteria is a series of drawings that explore the way women’s mental health is depicted in late 19th and early 20th century literature. Each drawing is named after the female protagonist of the novella or short story from which the words that form the drawing are taken.

The characters of these stories, written by female authors including Clarice Lispector, Katherine Mansfield and Dorothy Parker, suffer from disillusionment, depression, addiction and psychosis.

*Jane*, 2023, (from the *Hysteria* series)

Jane (above) uses Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper where Jane is suffering from postpartum depression, what her doctor and husband describe as ‘bad-nerves’, after the birth of her first child.

Each circle of the drawing is a transcription of one page of the story. As Jane’s story becomes increasingly complex, and her mental well-being grows progressively worse, the circles get smaller causing the text to become more dense and confused.

2023, pen on paper, 45.5 x 45.5cm