UN ABÉCÉDAIRE DE LA PSYCHIATRIE

AN ABC OF PSYCHIATRY

 

NO SOVEREIGN AUTHOR

 

The book Un Abécédaire de la Psychiatrie is the fruit of a collaboration between the artists of the duo NO SOVEREIGN AUTHOR and the patients of the psychiatric day center “La Fabrique du Pré”, located in Nivelles, Belgium.

 

Presented in the form of a dictionary, the book invites us to rethink the world of psychiatry through the eyes of patients. Original, visually powerful works of art created by patients in collaboration with artists illustrate each entry in the dictionary, offering a radically new, uninhibited approach to psychiatry. Each word, freed from historical interpretations, opens up to a new, more sensitive reality, closer to us and to those who live it. In their hands and before our eyes, the scientific lexicon of psychiatry becomes the language of the heart and soul.

 

© NO SOVEREIGN AUTHOR, Alcoolism, Un Abécédaire de la psychiatrie

 

An artistic approach to psychiatry

As part of their workshops at the center, the artists invited patients to revisit the contents of a psychiatric dictionary. Using photocopies of double pages from the dictionary, they reinterpret a word of their choice. Writing, collage, painting, drawing…. Patients combine different techniques to offer their vision of psychiatry, rooted in a sensitive experience.

 

© NO SOVEREIGN AUTHOR, Heredity, Un Abécédaire de la psychiatrie

 

New interpretations

The “plates” thus obtained constitute new interpretations of the psychiatric lexicon, usually reserved for mental health professionals only. The book is conceived as a presentation of a new dictionary of psychiatry. Each letter of the alphabet is illustrated by a selection of plates, created by the patient, on a word or concept.

 

© NO SOVEREIGN AUTHOR, Bipolar, Un Abécédaire de la psychiatrie

 

Through the artistic expression of patients, this book aims to make the world of psychiatry accessible to all. The target audience is not just artistic, institutional or medical, but society as a whole.

 

© NO SOVEREIGN AUTHOR, Depression, Un Abécédaire de la psychiatrie

 

The language of the soul

Allowing patients to propose and link other signifieds to the usual signifiers is a way of hearing and giving a place to their knowledge. Through their works, patients create a different vision of psychiatry, while at the same time telling their own stories. Through the beauty of these works, we gain a richer, deeper understanding of psychiatry in general and psychological suffering in particular.

 

© NO SOVEREIGN AUTHOR, Vulnerability, Un Abécédaire de la psychiatrie

 

© NO SOVEREIGN AUTHOR, Euphoria, Un Abécédaire de la psychiatrie

 

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about no sovereign author

 

NO SOVEREIGN AUTHOR is a duo of artists living and working in Belgium. After studying at the Académie des Beaux-Arts and collaborating with the “Blank Paper” collective, Maroussia Prignot (b. 1981) and Valerio Alvarez (b. 1976), have been working on a collective photographic project since 2015. Their collaboration began around the issue of welcoming migrants into the Belgian state. Considering that every image is a construction, not a faithful reproduction of “reality”, their approach is plural and integrative. They set up workshops in a spirit of collaboration and co-creation with those they photograph. Prignot and Alvarez strive to explore different levels of meaning and different types of image, in order to convey the full complexity of a situation and thus challenge