borderline, 2022
Challenging the stigma of mental illness.
Borderline personality disorder, (otherwise known as emotionally unstable personality disorder) is a Cluster B personality disorder recognised in the DSM-V. It is highly stigmatised, not only by society but also by mental health professionals, with those diagnosed with the disorder being denied access to vital healthcare due to being seen as manipulative, untreatable and self-destructive.
Borderline focuses on individuals diagnosed with this disorder, using abstract portrature to highlight the emotions and symptoms these individuals face.
‘A thick wall of frosted glass stands between me and reality.’
- Mental Health Worker, 22.
‘I could only hold so much before i emotionally crashed.’
- Law Student, 40.
‘some days i wake up and have no real memory of who i am.’
- Retail Assistant, 22.
ethics
Mental health photography has been done before, anyone can stage an image of an emotion or document someone in a crisis, so what makes this project different? It’s all down to ethics and collaboration, my aim for this project was (and still is) to demonstrate mental illness in a way that is uninfluenced by outside factors. Each step of creating this project has been a collaboration, from initial research to shoot designs and prop sourcing to the final image.
Everyone’s experience of mental illness is different, so images and texts representing this experience will differ between each individual, and that is what makes art beautiful.
This project is continuing indefinitely and if you or anyone you know has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, or any stigmatised mental health disorder and would like to get involved, please don’t hesitate to contact me.