Mental illness is an uphill battle. It’s a boxing match with no bell. It’s a rollercoaster that you’re handcuffed to. It’s juggling emotions like chainsaws. It’s self loathing, self righteousness, and self doubt all bundled into one confused little brain. But most of all, mental illness is a balance. A very delicate balance.
Upon being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 2018, life quickly became overwhelming. I had
dealt with sporadic emotions my whole life, sure, but something about a person in glasses behind
a desk telling you something new about your brain feels… violating. Waves of depression hit like
tsunamis, followed by two week stints of “I’m remarkable.” It felt as if my entire personality was
a footnote in the DSM-5. I turned to literature, finding solace in people who had lived through
similar experiences. This is when I came across Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison’s memoir, An Unquiet
Mind. Dr Jamison taught me something incredible— bipolar disorder is not black and white. In
fact, it’s everything in between. And, when handled with the proper care and attention it
deserves, Bipolar Disorder can evolve into something truly exceptional;
“The disease that has, on several occasions, nearly killed me does kill tens of thousands
of people every year: most are young, most die unnecessarily, and many are among the
most imaginative and gifted that we as a society have. The Chinese believe that before
you can conquer a beast you must first make it beautiful.”
-Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, An Unquiet Mind
Through sculpture, photography, performance art, and good ole’ fashioned carpentry; “Bull in a
China Shop” seeks to accentuate that very beauty, offering those affected by mental illness a new
perspective without hiding the story behind it. A series of self portraits, this project seeks to
communicate the ineffable— what it’s like to not be okay, and ultimately, the acceptance of it.
With love,
Jeffrey Donald Thomas
See more of the artist's work @www.jeffsdarkroom.com
