This piece is not meant to romanticize suicide or trivialize mental illness. In the artist’s own words “Van Gogh, and really anyone who struggles with mental illness, thrive and create in spite of their illness and not as a result of it. I admire Van Gogh for this reason. He strove forward to realize his vision while his very thoughts and perceptions betrayed him. This would take unimaginable courage. I am not trying to romanticize his illness in this image. I am trying to show my admiration for him as a person. Mental illness is a very real thing and I believe it should be openly discussed. I also believe we should make art about it. Those who suffer and struggle with it, and strive forward for the sake of themselves, their families, their passions, those individuals I will gladly romanticize as heroes.”
