Chaotic Disassociation
Martin Billingham
Artwork Part of ‘Chaos‘ (Issue 21)
The Science
Dissociative Identity Disorder [DID] is the disruption of a person’s identity and its integration within the conscious awareness of themselves and the world around them, impacting both physical and psychological aspects: memory, identity, motor control, behaviour and bodily representation.
Although everyone has moments of dissociation ‘zoning out’ in DID this effect is habitual and fluctuating. DID often results as a symptom of trauma, but also appears to link to disorders such as chronic migraine disease.
This artwork is impressionistic rather than a direct representation of disassociation, although DID includes visual hallucinations, the aesthetic choices are symbolic of the chaotic experience.
The Medium
A mixed media Cyanotype photo print, with additional oil painting and encaustic wax deterioration with the use of digital recolouring for the final result.
The Artist
Martin Billingham is a disabled artist investigating the connections between neuroscience, perception and art. A graduate of the Arts University Bournemouth, Martin went on to work in education, achieving a postgraduate qualification at the IOE UCL whilst also teaching public speaking (including science communication). Following health challenges including hemiplegic migraines, Martin is returning to art as a way to explore and express the lived experience of neurological conditions.
Bluesky: martinbillingham.bsky.social
Copyright statement. This work is published under the CC BY-NC-SA license