Bend, Oregon-based artist Rodney Thompson symbolically depicts mental health issues by means of impacting paintings of people with their heads on fire.
My current series is an exploration of the challenges people can experience with mental health and how the world continues to operate around individuals despite their struggle. Like many, I have experienced my own relationship with depression and anxiety throughout my lifetime. Yet, we often fail to recognize it culturally. The figures I paint have their heads wreathed in fire and are placed in scenes where their obvious condition goes unnoticed. I began this series depicting my own personal battles with severe depression, though it resonates with others’ experiences as well.
Rodney Thompson