Tim; Portraits: Patients and Psychiatrists

Gemma Anderson has made a speciality of scientific, medical and natural history subjects. Having shown a series of etched portraits that referred to the pseudo-scientific theories of physiognomy, phrenology and the 'doctrine of signatures' at her MA degree show at the RCA in 2007, Anderson met forensic psychiatrist Tim McInerny (the sitter in this print; another print from the series is 'Elsy', E.39-2011) and through him had the opportunity to work with patients and psychiatrists. She began by observing sessions between patients and psychiatrists, then conducting interviews with each sitter and asking them to complete a questionnaire. Thus she identified objects, plants and animals to characterise each sitter and represent - literally or metaphorically - aspects of their personal/professional identities. She does not differentiate in any obvious way between patient and psychiatrist; 'madness' and 'sanity' are presented even-handedly, and medicinal plants (used historically in the treatment of anxiety, aggression and so on) recur through as a leitmotif though all the portraits.

The sitters in both categories were unused to being the focus of attention as individuals - the patients were generally considered as exemplars of a condition, a set of symptoms, and the psychiatrists were used to projecting a professional mask as the 'expert' asking questions rather than answering them. In the course of her interviews Anderson elicited revelations and personal details which she then incorporated into the portraits. In the process she gave the patients an identity that went beyond a summary of their symptoms, restoring a sense of dignity and respect. The psychiatrists, admitting to anxieties, uncertainties or vulnerabilities, found new common ground with their patients. Mental illness remains a stigmatising condition - despite the fact that there is a very high incidence of such illness across society - ranging from phobias and panic attacks to depression and psychosis. Anderson's portraits demystify such illness by humanizing the sufferers, showing that their illness is not a character flaw but a consequence of experience and circumstances.

In making the prints, Anderson drew directly onto the copper plate, rather than making sketches or taking photographs to be translated onto the etching plate in the studio. She studied and drew the plant materials, animals, bones, organs etc in the collections of the Royal College of Physicians, Kew Gardens, and UCL's Grant Museum of Zoology. She also incorporated possessions and images supplied by or suggested by the sitters.