Images from the Unconscious

03/22/2022 — 06/06/2022

Marres, House for Contemporary Culture, Maastricht, Netherlands

In 1946, the Brazilian psychiatrist Nise da Silveira set up the Occupational Therapy Wing of the National Psychiatric Center, in Rio de Janeiro. At a time when psychiatric treatment methods such as electroconvulsive therapy, lobotomy and insulin coma shock were still commonplace, Da Silveira believed that patient could and should be helped by allowing them to express their pain, rather than being put into a stupor. Creative activities proved to be a powerful means both of calming schizophrenics and of accessing their inner worlds. The circular drawings they produced—some complex, others harmoniously structured—intrigued Da Silveira. She sent some samples to the famous psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. He saw in these mandala drawings confirmation of this theory of the universal language of symbols. Art critics were also impressed by their quality. Over the years, an unusual collection of around 400,000 artworks built up and this is now officially recognized as artistic heritage in Brazil. The Images from the Unconscious exhibition displays a selection of the works from this extraordinary collection. It presents the work of artists who have been working with Nise da Silveira for almost half a century, including neolithic sculptures, paintings of flowers in transformation, solar paintings made with wax crayons, in addition to the mandala drawings that made such a strong impression on Carl Gustav Jung.

Credits

Automatica has been developing cultural projects since 2005, working in the creation, production, curation, management, coordination and consultancy of exhibitions, educational programs, publications and other activities related to artistic production. It works with artists, curators, art critics, art historians, cultural institutions, public and private sponsors. It participates in public notices and awards, and prepares projects for incentive laws in the three spheres of public administration.

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