Ophelia

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet she is depicted as an example of female madness that tragically ended with her life.


But in her madness she also found her voice.  She finally rebelled against her patriarchal society, social constrictions and allowed her inner feelings to be expressed.  


“Madness need not to be all breakdown. It may also be break-through.  It is potential liberation and renewal as well as enslavement and existential death” R. D. Laing


In a society where a large percentage of people require treatment or medication, we should not view mental illness as a negative thing that needs to be kept hidden, like a horrible secret.  


As R.D. Laing also says:  “Insanity is a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world.


And to be honest, some (most) of my favourite people suffer or have suffered some sort of mental breakdown.  Plus some of the best art in the world would not exist….

By the way, the picture was quite easy.  A selfie, a picture of water and another of flowers in a succession of double exposures.  The write up was a lot more difficult.  There is so much to be said about mental health...