The light and darkness of the soul
Click on the images for information about
the paintings
The painting "Psykos" ("Psychosis")
is meant to reproduce a state where the  chaotic
surrounding world is collapsing. A woman commented this picture:
But it is very beautiful! Psychotic experiences can indeed also
be positive, where for instance inner voices are saying encouraging
things. Tomas Niklasson has aimed at depicting the dark as well
as the bright sides of mental illness. "Flicka med tatuering"
("Girl with a tattoo") is available in two versions, I
and II. The first version portraits a crouching woman in a dark
landscape. The body is turned inward in sorrow and  hopelessness
and illustrates depression. In the second version a female body
is sailing over a landscape. The woman seems to float away high
above earth, which hovers under her in dark and threatening colours.
This is a picture of the feelings of happiness and euphoria that
characterize the manic state, which however rests on a fragile ground
and could any moment turn into its opposite state, in which the
figure starts to fall.
 Also
in the painting "Blått regn" ("Blue rain")
- which is an "apocalyptic" picture inspired by Rubens
and presents a crowd of people - the artist wishes to show the chaotic
feelings that can arise during a psychosis, when strong feelings
of joy and elation are mixed with anxiety and depression.
 Exactly
this balance between darkness and light has been the foundation
for many of my works. I have met a great lust for life, but if you
scratch the surface, anxiety often breaks through, says Tomas Niklasson.
He has met many strong and vivid people who have openly told him
about their struggle with the illness and their efforts to return
to an active life. For a person who has suffered from for instance
schizophrenia and has been afflicted with severe psychological problems
for many years, it is not quite easy to learn to manage by yourself
in society. These difficulties have been on the artist’s mind
in the painting "Hinderlöparen" (The "Steeplechaser").
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