Living with the unnameable

Abstract

This paper explores artistic manifestations of two cohabiting minds in images made by patients in art therapy and in the work and lives of two highly regarded artists/poets. Drawing on the work of Sinason and others, one of these minds is conceived as orientated to social and personal relationships, the other is conceived as dedicated to self-sufficiency and is more attuned to the physical world. This latter mind tends to keep itself out of sight and to intrude on relationships with destructive consequences at all levels from personal to global political. The artistic medium and process are able to contain both of these ways of being and so enable the radical self-sufficiency of the internal other to be held in mind by the relational. Its distinctive worldview is thus made available to reflective, relational thought. Building on Otto Ranks' work on the double, a historical context is suggested for this.

Keywords:

• Unilateralism
• radical self-sufficiency
• internal other
• image
• spiritual
• political
• social