The day of birth for every human being is the start of a lifelong battle to adapt himself to an ever-changing environment. He is usually victorious and adjusts himself without pain. However, in one case out of 20, he does not adjust himself. In U.S. hospitals, behind walls like [those] shown here, are currently 500 000 men, women and children whose minds have broken in the conflict of life.
– Excerpt from LIFE Magazine’s 1939 article and photo essay, ‘Strangers to Reason: LIFE Inside a Psychiatric Hospital’
The Performance of the Mind, a black-and-white photograph of the St Petersburg Russian Ballet Company on stage, is taken from Saaiq’a’s The Fourth Wall series. “The Fourth Wall series is an exploration of the psychological realm of today’s man,” the artist writes. “As conscious, sentient beings, we negotiate pain our entire lives; a lifelong battle. We find ourselves adapting to an ever-changing environment of experience, which evokes both joy and pain. Through this work, I explore this negotiation with life, by bearing witness to the human condition and man’s existential state. I will also be exploring intensely the unwavering power of the mind and psychosis. In our mind’s we perform our truths; our lies; our fears and fantasies; all our pain and our joy.”
Saaiq’a is a Durban-born writer, multi-disciplinary artist, and visual storyteller; engaging with photography, installation, and mixed media-based works while pursuing documentary and film-making. “In previous and current works,” they write, “I have explored mental health and mental illness, the duality of life, love/sex/death, identity, and the transience of life. I would describe some of my work to be: Ephemeral. Transcendent. Gritty. Honest. Intimate. Poetic. Melancholic. Confrontational. Introspective. Visceral. Cinematic. Experiential. Subversive.”
– Excerpt from LIFE Magazine’s 1939 article and photo essay, ‘Strangers to Reason: LIFE Inside a Psychiatric Hospital’
The Performance of the Mind, a black-and-white photograph of the St Petersburg Russian Ballet Company on stage, is taken from Saaiq’a’s The Fourth Wall series. “The Fourth Wall series is an exploration of the psychological realm of today’s man,” the artist writes. “As conscious, sentient beings, we negotiate pain our entire lives; a lifelong battle. We find ourselves adapting to an ever-changing environment of experience, which evokes both joy and pain. Through this work, I explore this negotiation with life, by bearing witness to the human condition and man’s existential state. I will also be exploring intensely the unwavering power of the mind and psychosis. In our mind’s we perform our truths; our lies; our fears and fantasies; all our pain and our joy.”
33.5 x 48 cm | digital print | limited edition
Saaiq’a is a Durban-born writer, multi-disciplinary artist, and visual storyteller; engaging with photography, installation, and mixed media-based works while pursuing documentary and film-making. “In previous and current works,” they write, “I have explored mental health and mental illness, the duality of life, love/sex/death, identity, and the transience of life. I would describe some of my work to be: Ephemeral. Transcendent. Gritty. Honest. Intimate. Poetic. Melancholic. Confrontational. Introspective. Visceral. Cinematic. Experiential. Subversive.”