Assorted Agues and Afflictions

Sigmund Freud, (born May 6, 1856, Freiberg, Moravia, Austrian Empire [now Příbor, Czech Republic]—died September 23, 1939, London, England), Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis.

britannica.com

Assorted Agues and Afflictions was completed in 2020.

The therapy scene came to my mind after a person criticized my work. He found the use of animals in human situations uncanny, it made him upset. My first idea was to create a scene of this guy getting treated for his fear of anthropomorphism.

But it made more sense to incorporate a session between a female and her  psychiatrist to the rest of this tale. It fit right in. Being treated for Hysteria was very popular at the time.

Making the characters

The therapist and his client.

The Statues

Sigmund Freud collected art and antique sculptures, and he kept a lot of them in his therapy room.

I recreated some of those, and added a few extra, like Pazuzu, Chthulu and some trophies – Like a claw from my own cat.

Drawings and paintings

Freud had an interesting selection of artworks.  I made some miniature replicas, with a twist. Using pastels, coloured pencil, graphite, oil-paint and there is also one relieff, made from clay.

The Chair

Woodwork combined with some sculpting.

Books, books, books

The Desk

At a flee market I found an old broken coffee-grinder. It was a perfect starting-point for a desk.