Published: May 31, 2021 13:59 Devinder Bains The presence of mental illness in art dates back beyond the middle ages. Often coarsely labelled as ‘madness in art’ the passing centuries have done nothing to wane the complex relationship between creativity and emotional disorders. We explore the importance of the modern marriage between art and the mind. Tears of Shame (2011) Image Credit: Abi/Kim Noble Heavy chaotic flourishes surround the small, perfectly framed landscape, and at first, the juxtaposition appears confusing. Like two contrasting paintings have somehow found their way onto the same canvas: the calm and beautifully painted countryside versus the manic and eerie brushstrokes that surround the serene pastures. But the two are in fact unified: the framed watercolour-like acrylics emerge as the head of a portrait and sit above a dark and abstract body. What sort of mind would think to create this surreal montage that has been so poetically described as a mash-up of John Constable and Francis Bacon? Maybe it’s someone who sees a mind that doesn’t fit a body? The work is part of David Kim Whittaker’s The Flesh to the Frame collection, some of which is currently showing at Opera Gallery Dubai to coincide with his September exhibition at Opera Gallery New York. The Flesh to the Frame explores the artist’s struggle with the psychological condition of gender dysphoria. “The works juggle dual states of inner and outer calm and conflict, strength and fragility, the conscious and the subconscious, the masculine and the feminine,” Whittaker explains. “These universal states of conflict are arguably reinforced by my gender dysphoria and my struggle and coming to terms with this condition.”