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Hana Madness: Harnessing monsters in her mind
Inspired by symptoms of bipolar disorder, Indonesian artist Hana Madness emphasizes human resilience in her work.
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‘Manic Depressive Narcissistic Family’ by Hana Madness (Courtesy of Hana Madness/-)
I
f you see Indonesian artist Hana Madness’ work, you will see cheerful, brightly colored paintings of smiling monsters in many shapes and sizes.
These works of art, including those on display at her exhibition, titled “Suddenly Monster Part 1”, at the Artsphere pop-up gallery in Senayan City shopping center, Central Jakarta, in January, were inspired by her struggles managing her symptoms after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2013.
“I believe we can advocate for mental health issues in a more fun way, using cute images. It doesn’t always have to be dark,” Hana told The Jakarta Post.
One work called Siko Family features characters that visually describe her experience taking a number of mental illness medications. It is displayed alongside a piece called Super Cranky, describing a phase of her bipolar disorder.
Hana’s ability to turn her painful bipolar episodes – the monsters in her mind – into art demonstrates just how acutely aware she is of her symptoms.
She said she was constantly learning about her illness and how to handle it, including by taking medication, and was armed with an optimism that her condition could be treated and managed.
