Bobby Baker's Diary Drawings – An Exhibition
Wellcome Collection Shows Artist's Own Experience of Mental Illness
Apr 14, 2009
Bobby Baker trained as a painter at the St Martins School of Art (now Central St Martins). Painting was not enough so she turned to cake and sugar as a way of expressing herself.
Bobby Baker – a Very Unusual Artist
During her 35-year career she has done some very unusual things, such as travelling through London shouting at passers by to "pull yourselves together". She was strapped to the back of a truck at the time! She has created a life-size cake version of her family, to be eaten by visitors, and danced with meringue ladies. Bobby has opened her own kitchen, and many others around the world, to the public in order to display her cake and sugar art.
How to Live and Box Story – Performance Pieces
Bobby Baker is also well-known as a performance artist exploring issues which affect our daily lives. Her subject matter ranges from health to shopping and motherhood. She actively fights for greater acceptance of, and human rights for, those labelled as 'disordered'. Successful performance pieces include Box Story and How to Live, a Wellcome Trust-funded project.
Why Bobby Baker Created her Diary Drawings
When Bobby became a patient at a day centre in 1997 she was desperate to find a way of expressing her thoughts and feelings to the professionals involved in her care. The diary drawings provided the outlet she needed.
Bobby never planned to make the drawings public. However, since they became such an important part of her life she has now permitted almost 160 images from her sketchbooks to form the basis of an exhibition at the Wellcome Collection.
Bobby said: "They seem to communicate, more effectively than words, aspects of what my experience of mental illness has been, on so many unexpected levels. A good dollop of humour sometimes comes in handy when looking at the darkest times."
The Treatment of Mental Illness
Since her mental health problems began Bobby has kept her family life together and has worked prolifically as an artist. Her drawings give a fascinating insight into the stories behind these achievements. The images reflect her experiences of mental illness and the various treatments she received in day hospitals and psychiatric wards.
Bobby Baker's Diary Drawings – the Exhibition
The exhibition is laid out in 17 "stages" each exploring different events in Bobby's life. She describes her first few days at a day centre and the many long stays in acute clinics and her distress as an increasing number of professionals become involved in her treatment. She also expresses the anguish of watching her mother die shortly after her own surgery for breast cancer. The images labelled Day 165, Day 398 and Day 579 reflect these events.
The exhibition is not all doom and gloom. Bobby depicts the elation at being awarded a Creative Fellowship at Queen Mary, University of London. She also portrays the success of Box Story and How to Live. Other images show the stresses and strains of working tours of Europe, Australia, the USA and China, and the fun of holidays with her husband. Finally Bobby shows the joy of recovery. The images labelled Day 469 and Day 637 reflect these events.
In a world where mental anguish often remains invisible she has made these feelings visible, and her work will encourage others to do the same.
Bobby Baker's Diary Drawings will be on view until 2nd August 2009. The exhibition coincides with Madness & Modernity: Mental illness and the visual arts in Vienna 1900 (1st April to 28th June 2009).
The two exhibitions complement each other nicely and there is an interesting programme of public events. Full details can be obtained from the Wellcome Collection.
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