Response to Delirium (PTSD)
Delirium was a pen and ink drawing exhibited in the Phantom Limb exhibition at the Victoria Museum and Gallery in 2016. The artist Nany Andrew created many works as a response to the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after a heart aneurysm. The image was used as a start point for a piece of creative writing which will be read at part of the Light Night Liverpool, Central Library 5-7pm by the author, Alison Little.
She lies in a deep grave, a slot pushed further into the ground than needed. A simple horizon shape is drawn down, a void created to take in the female form. The landscape sliced lengthways to expose what lies beneath its surface. She lies stretched sideways into the alcove. Half woman, half bird. Her head encased by the shell of the bird, the body naked and exposed for all to see. A black bird, a symbol of death the figure lies twisted, not dead but not inclined to alter its position to that of comfort. The eye of the black feathered creature slit-like, almost coming to the end of its life as it looks towards the freedom of its domain: the sky. Breasts are in full vision, her arched hand hiding the groin area. Her legs are raised, feet high ready to be manoeuvred into the recovery position. The tail of the bird and the shadow from her lower body merge into one. To the front she reaches towards a stick, a potential lever to aid her escape. Above, on the horizon, we can see the trees at first, upon closer inspection they are individual fingers growing out of the ground. Singular branches functioning without foliage., each finger disjointed from the others spindling out from the black of the terrain. Gentle lines indicate grass, bur no lavish and free grown, sparse within this bleak vision. The monotone mix of black and white vision. Ink which is not pure in its application, diluted and varied in blocking features. The neutrals of the sky washed out, contaminating the vision of existence.
Image provided cyrtisory of Nancy Andrews, all rights reserved.
