Nail schizophrene.
- Charnley, Bryan, 1949-1991
- Date:
- [1986]
- Reference:
- 3049675i
- Part of:
- Bondage paintings.
- Pictures
- Online
Online resources
- Related materials at Wellcome Library See the related archive PP/BCH: View resource
About this work
Description
Outline of a head bound tightly in a headscarf and filled with imagery, including naked bodies with wrapped heads being struck by a hammer, burning cigarettes, heads, and a piano engulfed in a wave.
Publication/Creation
[1986]
Physical description
1 painting : oil on canvas ; 65.9 x66.4 cm
Series
Contributors
Biographical note
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.
Reference
Bryan Charnley. 1986. Nail schizophrene. [Oil on canvas]. Wellcome Collection 3049675i
References note
Charnley, J. (2018). Bryan Charnley: art and adversity, pages 113-114.
Exhibitions note
Exhibited in the Reading Room, Wellcome Collection from January 2020 onwards.
Notes
Title from printed label on verso of painting.
Signed BJC in bottom right corner of recto.
Charnley's paintings of bound heads are described by James Charnley as 'the bondage paintings'.
Ownership note
Purchased by Wellcome Collection in 2018 from the Estate of Bryan Charnley.
Type/Technique
Languages
Where to find it
Location Access On ExhibitionCan't be requested Note