ECHOES OF THE MIND
BACHELOR DEGREE PROJECT @HSLU Cameraarts



Lucerne, Switzerland
10 photographs
produced in 2024


How can a psychosis as an experience be visually expressed through photography and made tangible to the audience to sensitise them to the issue of mental disorders? As someone who has experienced psychosis multiple times, I find it difficult to accurately describe the world I inhabit during an episode. To bridge this communication gap and encourage discussion, I try to explain psychosis in a way others can understand. Psychosis can vary greatly from person to person, so my aim is to provide an example rather than a universal statement.

During my research, I realized that there are many stereotypes and prejudices about people with psychosis, often perpetuated by films. In my bachelor‘s thesis, I explored whether art can challenge these stereotypes and concluded that literature, theatre, and film can indeed do so.This led me to question whether photography can also play a role in conveying the reality of psychosis and reducing these stereotypes and prejudices. 

Psychosis manifests itself in disturbing, often contradictory episodes that take place inside the person suffering from the illness. This pushes their own systems and those of their relatives to their limits. As a sufferer with a predisposition passed down through generations, processes the sensory impressions I experienced – such as fear or hallucinations – into something tangible: a multi-layered, materialised and at the same time mobile form of expression intended to touch and be touched.





© Livio Burtscher
2025