![]() Forney addresses her own fears of medication, and in doing this, she also explores her own relationship with art and creativity, causing her to question how she prioritises her art and her health. She questions whether artists such as Van Gogh and Michelangelo created masterpieces because they were bipolar, and whether they would have created them if they had been medicated. In Marbles, Forney examines the connections between mental illness (specifically bipolar) and artistic creativity by discussing the effects that various medications have had on her body and her mind, and by studying mentally ill artists through history. Despite having an understanding of the mental illness, she initially rejects the possibility of having it. Despite it being referenced off-hand in popular media, a taboo around bipolar disorder still remains prominent – this is something that Forney does an excellent job of addressing in her graphic memoir: during the second meeting with her therapist, she recalls saying “My mother and I both have bipolar tendencies, but I’m not like, bipolar bipolar”. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo And Me is an autobiographical journey which follows her years-long exploration of medication, therapy, and how they affect her creative drive. Just before her thirtieth birthday, Ellen Forney is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. ![]() Content warning: depictions of mental illness ![]()
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