Morgen Jan

‘Head Inside’ has developed from a deeply personal context, informed by my brother’s experience of Schizophrenia. At first glance, you are intrigued, you hear unusual music playing which spurs curiosity and adds mystery. Visually, you are greeted with comical exaggerated floating heads with a cloud of chaos with shards of red and blue. Once explored, you realise the display is about the feeling of distortion from Schizophrenia, how their reality is different from ours, how each individual experiencing psychosis is affected and the impact on the loved ones who surround them.

The black string reflects the mental state of chaos in the mind, contrasting with the soft book below on the table, containing vulnerable real life, raw experiences from families caring for loved ones with Schizophrenia.

My brother’s flute notes are played on a loop, to show how the illness is an endless cycle and forces the audience to enter their world. This creates an unsettling impact on the viewer, a sense of intrigue for exploration and an idea of some of the experiences families go through everyday caring for someone with Schizophrenia.

The masks function as both concealment and revelation, inviting participants to momentarily step into an altered perceptual space. Subtle interactive and sensory elements, including texture and sound, aim to evoke the layered and fragmented nature of experience. Through this embodied approach, I seek to foster empathy and understanding, encouraging audiences to engage with connection

Ultimately, my work is about immersion, connection and transformation—of materials, of perception, and of understanding. It is an invitation to find humour within discomfort, beauty within distortion, promote acceptance and connection within unfamiliar realities. I would like the viewer to gain a feeling of empathy and to destigmatize the misconceptions around Schizophrenia.