Bipolar Print

"...and I went mad: at times hugging the pillow, at times throwing things about in rage. Even the nurse, with loaded syringe, could not get near me." A wild and primitive coastal landscape is the setting for this drama. One giant figure attacks another, yet both seem strangely alike - they are possibly two aspects of the same person. They wear what appear to be hospital shifts, indicating that they may be the inmates of a mental institution. Their clothing could be nightdresses, indicating that this may be a nightmare, or that they might be somnabulists, carrying out some unconscious psychodrama. The inspiration for the head of the raging woman on the right is a giant bas relief of the head of Medusa, the Gorgon, outside the civic museum in Pesaro, Italy, which I visited with my wife a few years ago. This giant sculpture instils the same horror in the viewer as Caravaggio's painting of the same subject. Tragically, but almost ironically, this sculpture fell on its creator, Mengaroni, and killed him as it was being installed at the museum. I wanted the figures in my painting to be like giants - the inspiration for which comes from various mythologies, from the Greek Titans to Fingal (Finn) and Benandonner - all of which come from an earlier (pre-conscious?) age. The primal fear and rantings of this divided state are what I wanted to convey. This division is emphasised by the two figures being on the two separate panels of the diptych.

Print:Giclee on Fine Art Paper

Size:10 W x 10 H x 0.1 D in

Size with Frame:15.25 W x 15.25 H x 1.2 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.