Dark Side Of Schizophrenia

This biro pen drawing is my interpretation of schizophrenia, a condition often misunderstood, reduced to fear or stigma, when in reality it is an intensely personal and complex experience. Rather than portraying it from the outside looking in, I wanted to capture what it can feel like from within, where reality itself becomes unstable, fractured, and difficult to trust.

The face in this piece is split, not cleanly, but violently. One side remains recognisably human, grounded, present. The other is overtaken by chaos, a dense web of intrusive forms, sharp edges, and tangled lines that seem to grow and consume. This division reflects the internal conflict, the constant tension between what is real and what is perceived.

The eye becomes the focal point, wide, alert, almost hyper aware. It suggests a heightened state of perception, where everything feels amplified, scrutinised, and impossible to ignore. In contrast, the opposite side is hollowed, darkened, almost erased, symbolising disconnection, absence, and the parts of self that feel lost or unreachable.

Cracks spread across the surface of the face like fractured glass, representing the breakdown of a singular, stable identity. The dripping ink evokes a sense of distortion, as though thoughts and perceptions are bleeding into one another, difficult to separate or contain.

This piece is an attempt to give form to the invisible, to create understanding where there is often silence, and to acknowledge the strength it takes to navigate a mind that can feel divided against itself.