Hysteria
For this project I investigated the relationship between the Nineteenth Century disease Hysteria and the Dissociative Disorders known in contemporary psychiatry. In the early years of psychiatry and photography (1850-1880), Hysteria was often photographed and photos were used as scientific evidence to support the medical theory. The positions and movements of women were a central part of it, where the body served as the ‘key’ to the inner psyche.
The Great Hysteria Attack as Jean-Martin Charcot displayed, around 1880 was probably a Dissociative Disorder. This disorder is a symptom, as explained in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and is diagnosed in multiple psychiatric illnesses.
How many different variations, levels and shapes can be found? Are they always visible? These bodily movements served as the start of my visual exploration.
Photo, different printing techniques, print on fabric, paper, thinner
2017
