Charnley's diary entry reads: "An extremely complicated picture as I feel I am closing in on the essential image of my schizophrenia. I am transparent firstly. Make crazy attempts at some sort of control over what has become an impossible situaton (the man with the control stick). My brain, my ego is transfixed witth nails as the Christ who could not move more freely on the cross without severe pain. So I find I cannot think without feelings of pain. My self-respect, my ego, my feelings about me are cruxified as Christ. From here on in enlightenment about my condition creeps in and imagery becomes even more difficult to find. I realised that the fear caused by the anger (symbolised by the red,tied beast, muzzled because the anger arises from not being able to reply to the abuse heaped on me), this fear is causing me to hallucinate telepathy and E.S.P. which is not there. Or not there when I am no longer in fear. I express this as best I can through the mouths on the end of the enourmous bent up eyebrows... I intend to record my progress with more self portraits to add up, when they are all joined together as an important document as to life at the end of the twentieth century. "Self Portrait" will will state with depth, what it is to be human and schizophrenic"
Bryan Charnley (1949-1991) was a British artist whose work illustrates his experiences of schizophrenia. In 1969 he enrolled on a BA in sculpture at the Central School of Art and Design, but left due to a breakdown. He started painting in 1978, and from the late 1980s he began to get recognition for his work, with Bethlem Royal Hospital purchasing four of his paintings. From 1987 to his death he kept a dream diary as a way of understanding his own mind. In March 1991 he decided to experiment with his medication and embarked on a series of self-portraits, a series which exposed his mental illness. The series was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in 1995. He took his own life in July 1991.
