Comfort in the Chaos
A Print serious about mania
My print ‘ Comfort in the Chaos, ‘ 2025, is all about a manic state. This work is based on my personal experiences of extreme, unpredictable mood swings from depressive lows of sadness/ crying, to feelings of anger and hysterical laughter. These 3 main emotions are intertwined and make it difficult to understand and see the harmony in what I feel. This work was made in a very difficult time in my life, where I felt a lot of uncontrollable emotions so heavy that it made me physically unwell. ‘ Comfort in the Chaos ‘ also made me delve into researching and learning more about BPD. With that being said, mental health is extremely important, so please take care of yourself and learn to lean on someone else when needed.
xoxo
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious, chronic mental health condition characterised by intense, unstable emotions, impulsivity, and chaotic relationships. It stems from complex interactions between genetics, brain biology, and environmental trauma.
A look behind the scenes:
So to make a more impactful visual, I cut the plate into about 20 pieces. Making the image look shattered/ broken and fragmented, like how one feels when their emotions are constantly changing. This meant that each time I went to ink and print, I would have to put myself back together again like a jigsaw puzzle. Doing so made me feel like I was going insane. But it was all worth it in the end :)
With ‘ Comfort in the Chaos,’ I started with etching 3 self portraits into an aluminium plate. Each face depicts a different emotional state. Capturing tiny details with lots of line work. With this, I got some very nice, clean, black-inked prints from the plate. However, this was not enough of an effect to represent the chaos that one may feel when having BPD.
