This month's cover features four paintings by British artist Bryan Charnley, whose later work depicts his experience with schizophrenia. The paintings are part of a series of 17 self-portraits Charnley created during the last few months of his life while experimenting with varying doses of antipsychotic medications. His artwork, he wrote, aimed to "state with depth what it is to be human and schizophrenic."
Born in 1949, Charnley was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a young adult after suffering multiple mental breakdowns while attending art school. He continued to work as an artist despite his struggles; he had a solo exhibition in London in 1989, and several of his paintings were purchased by Bethlem Royal Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in London. In March 1991, Charnley began his series of self-portraits. He kept a diary to accompany the portraits, noting what he was feeling and what medication he was taking. For example, of the painting shown at top left, he explained: "Very paranoid. The person upstairs was reading my mind and speaking back to me[horizontal ellipsis]. The large rabbit ear is because I was confused and extremely sensitive to human voices, like a wild animal."
Charnley committed suicide in July 1991. His work has garnered recognition since his death, and the Self Portrait Series was exhibited at London's National Portrait Gallery. For information on Charnley and to see more of his paintings, visit http://www.bryancharnley.info. His work also illustrates this month's CE article, "Antipsychotic Medications," the first in a series on commonly used psychotropic drugs. -Diane Szulecki, editor