'We show 'outsider art' to the world'

In 1986 Dr Guislain Museum was founded by the Brothers of Charity in memory of Belgiumrsquos first psychiatrist Joseph Guislain Currently the museum is exhibiting a show on the history of mental health and outsider art in collaboration with the Tata Institute of Social Science TISS at the Institute of Contemporary India Art at Kala Ghoda Titled Breaking the Chains of Stigma all the works on display are by mentallyill patients from across the world and date as early as the beginning of the 20th century L to R Patrick Allegaert and Bart Marius from Dr Guislain Museum in Belgium were in Mumbai recently for a show on mental health and outsider art PicsBipin Kokate Also the museum and pharmaceutical company Jannsen Research and development awards an individual project or organisation that has made an exceptional contribution in reducing the stigma associated with mental illness The Dr Guislain Breaking the Chains of Stigma Award worth USD 50000 is awarded annually on World Mental Health Day This year Bagus Utomo from Jakarta who founded KPSI an organisation to help people suffering from schizophrenia wonu00a0this honour The artist of this sculpture from the early 20th century suffered from a mental illness To combat the visions in his head he created an empire and proclaimed himself the emperor The work reflects creativity and extent of his imagination On a sunny Friday I walk into the gallery to interview Artistic Director Patrick Allegaert and Curator Bart Marius of the museum in Ghent Belgium curious to know what connection the exhibition has with India I return amazed to learn that among other things some treatments are more effective in India than abroad because they involve the patientsrsquo families Excerpts from the interview Tell us about Dr Guislain Museum Patrick The museum which is government funded is built on the premise of the first psychiatry hospital in Belgium Spread across 4000 square feet it conducts lectures and programmes in education and hosts thematic art exhibitions Photographs from the early 18th and early 20th century and films on psychiatry are on display We also collect art work from patients Some of the works are from the beginning of the 20th century All the works are displayed in the old rooms and dormitory of this heritage structure Here we attempt to show what the situation was before the evolution of electroshock The museum also organises theme exhibitions In November this year there will be an exhibition on war and trauma to mark 100 years of the first World War Here we will display Gond art by the Dalit community in India representing death trauma Bart When the museum first opened it had a small collection as it was an era where society was not interested in the science of psychiatry The idea of dealing with mental illness did not exist but today we understand the importance of understanding the past to better the present and future Our work involves procuring works from untrained mentally ill patients to give them a platform The works on display are not on sale We only showcase the art as an outlet of expression for the patients Do you plan to take this exhibition to other cities Yes we are working on it We hope to take the exhibition to Delhi and Bangalore and even Pune which hosts the Indian psychiatry conference Around 4000 doctors will be visiting next year What is outsider art PatrickWorks done by psychiatric patients fall in the category of psychotic art and are also termed as lsquoschizophrenic mastersrsquo The museum shows also works by people who live in isolation Such art largely falls in the outsider art category It is an attempt to give them more place in the artist world Whenever we take a work from a patient they are always paid for the work to help them in life or buy more material for their art works The idea is to appreciate the artwork created as a result of their imagination and inner voices they hear because of their condition Sometimes when such an artist takes medication the works are not interesting anymore Bart Over the years many philosophers believe that works of mentally ill patients should not be displayed But we believe that when you show outsider art to the society it creates awareness and helps dissolve the stigma associated with mental illness and its patients We donrsquot talk about their illness We talk about the art How has your experience in Mumbai been so far Bart We are very happy to showcase some of the works in India I came here 10 days ago and realised that the story of the history of psychiatry and the stigma associated in India is similar to the situation in Europe The stigma of death and sickness still exists in both countries Pyschiatry has more to do with culture than biology I was talking to someone who works closely with Autism in Delhi and learnt that compared to America where the individual is treated here it is linked to the surrounding environment of the child and the family is part of the treatment This often speeds up the treatment I was fascinated to know that How much progress has the world made when it comes to dealing with mental illnesses Patrick In the first part of the 20th century institutions isolated mental patients from the society In the last 25 years there has been progress in terms of including the patients into the community be it through art therapy government initiatives and social awareness Now the treatment has become more individualoriented What role does the museum play toward mental health Patrick When people see the works done by mentallyill patients and notice the moving and vivid voices and pictures of their imagination they realise that mentallyill patients have talent and use art as a medium of expression We never say this or that is the story we want to compare different points of view Science is the truth We want to show how art reflects the imagination of the outsider artists The exhibition will move to TISS in Deonar after it ends on October 27 at the ICAIu00a0