Ordinary Madness

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A mixed Media on board artwork by David Shillinglaw

“Ordinary Madness” is a large collage made up of a collection of mini portrait paintings, each individually placed together on a backing board.

The work details the complexity of human nature and the unity we all have in experiencing or knowing someone who has experienced problems with mental illness.

The inspiration for this piece by David Shillinglaw came from individual people travelling on the underground. Through observing people for months every time he travelled, David Shillinglaw built up a collection of portraits of people who were of interest to him detailing “Ordinary Madness.”

David Shillinglaw is highlighting in this painting that it is not material things that material things that define us, but our physical and emotional conditions that make up our identity.

“For me, art is a language for things I cannot talk about. In a world so obsessed with perfection, strength and beauty, I feel that art has the power to speak about and celebrate aspects of the human condition which are difficult to describe and define, traits such as vulnerability, insecurity and anxiety. My artwork draws upon my own experiences, a journal of sorts, a self-portrait, whilst also observing people around me, and around the world. My focus is humans; their behaviours, complexities and the conditions in which they exist. It is my aim to draw attention to the fact that “It is OK to not be OK”.