In this new series of work, I explore the fragility of life and how our state of mind can falter when we’re faced with mental ill health.

Although I haven’t personally suffered from these challenges, I’ve been close to others who have. Through nine paintings, I’ve tried to imagine what it feels like when life descends into a circus of hopeless despair—when the light disappears, when we become disengaged and start slipping away from the familiar, or when unwelcome “mad shadows” creep into view.

These paintings are built around my own life studies of the human figure, combined with found imagery. The work has been deeply influenced by Sally Brampton’s memoir Shoot the Damn Dog, where she describes her experience of depression as “the monster at the throat pulling tight around the neck.” That line really struck a chord with me and guided much of the emotional tone in this series.

While each painting focuses on a solitary figure, enclosed in a vacuum of space to evoke isolation, there’s also a passage of hope running through the work. I want these paintings to offer a way for viewers to connect with the struggles of mental illness and to help foster greater understanding and empathy