Dear Steem-Community,

I’m an art student who is going to become an art teacher and I want to use this great platform to share my artworks/thoughts with you about topics which concern me deeply.
My works are mainly focused on the human being (paintings, sculptures, sketches and some digital art). The sketch - The Magician - is influenced by a student job I did for several years. I worked in a closed psychiatric hospital being some kind of intensive support for patients with self- or foreign-endangerment. During this time I got to know so many different types of humans with heartbreaking backgrounds and many of those experiences influenced my artworks.
The disease which inspired me in this case is called - Dissociative Identity Disorder. Due to the rights situation and in respect to the patients I’m not going to share deeper details about this work.

The following definition serves to give you a short idea about the symptoms of this disease and my idea of visual language:

„DID reflects a failure to integrate various aspects of identity, memory, and consciousness into a single multidimensional self. Usually, a primary identity carries the individual's given name and is passive, dependent, guilty, and depressed. When in control, each personality state, or alter, may be experienced as if it has a distinct history, self-image and identity. The alters' characteristics—including name, reported age and gender, vocabulary, general knowledge, and predominant mood—contrast with those of the primary identity. Certain circumstances or stressors can cause a particular alter to emerge. The various identities may deny knowledge of one another, be critical of one another or appear to be in open conflict.
Possession-form identities often manifest as behaviors that appear as if a spirit or other supernatural being has taken control of the person. Many possession states around the world are a normal part of a cultural or spiritual practice; these possession states become a disorder when they are unwanted, cause distress or impairment, and are not accepted as part of a cultural or religious practice.“

Source and more detailed information at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder

In my opinion it’s nearly impossible to imagine these circumstances when you are in mental health. The sea of emotions, especially the bad ones, must be absolutely overwhelming. Sadly, people with mental disorders are often stigmatized, excluded and ignored outside of health institutions. We shouldn’t ignore the bad side of life just because we have the privilege to be healthy or worry-free at some moment. In regard to this it’s important that people understand their own life as complex as the life of their fellows. The rate of mental disorders in society is increasing and it can happen to everyone.

Therefore we should put away our egoism as often as possible, concentrate more on togetherness and caring for each other.

Materials:
artist pen
proMarker

Looking forward to your feedback and thoughts!