Diary of a Madman
This set of work was inspired by Nikolai Gogol’s short story from 1835.
Poprishchin, a rural character with ambitions, comes to the city as a clerk sharpening quills in a government office.
In the diary, his fears of inadequacy are expressed through snobbery and increasing delusions of grandeur, as he slips into fantasy and madness.
At its extremes, Poprishchin’s snobbery includes misogyny, antisemitism, Islamophobia and conspiracy theory, and so he is an early example of the modern man.
My immersion in this darkly humorous text led to a large set of work, and an exhibition hosted by Christopher Eccleston in 2018.
The exhibition included a visualisation of the entire narrative as a painted wooden book, as well as three theatrical picture boxes, a series of paintings, and a set of papier maché heads, all inspired by surreal and absurd imagery from the text.
An English-language translation of the story illustrated with ink-blot drawings was published to accompany the show.