Alexithymia
Coloured pencil and ink pen on paper
60 x 40 cm (23.6 x 15.7 inches)
This artwork is part of a series of portraits that represent mental illness. Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by the inability to recognize, describe, or express one’s own emotions and feelings.
The word originates from Ancient Greek and literally means ‘no words for emotions’.
The figure depicted has a neutral expression, with several pieces of the puzzle missing in areas of the face where emotional cues typically reside.
This emphasizes the absence of emotions and aims to allow the viewer to experience a glimpse of the everyday life of someone suffering from alexithymia.
The arrangement of the puzzle pieces is tear-shaped, symbolizing a tear in the subject’s relational life, which becomes more challenging due to the absence of the emotional component essential for human interaction.