Melancholia

A new exhibition of works commissioned by UCL’s Psychoanalysis Unit that explores the significance of melancholia in creativity and psychoanalysis.

Holly Hewitt, Loss of Innocence

Following the success of two previous exhibitions at the Freud Museum London, the Psychoanalysis Unit at UCL has commissioned a new exhibition of artworks exploring the significance of melancholia in creativity and psychoanalysis. Freud understood melancholia as a special type of mourning for a relationship that has been damaged or destroyed, when the mourner identifies with the formerly loved object instead of giving them up, and becomes highly self-critical in consequence.

Six student artists from the Slade School of Fine Art and the University of the Arts London explore ways in which the concept of melancholia can be visualised. They present journeys through the melancholic state for both the artist and the viewer, reflecting how melancholia as a form of loss transforms into an affirming creative action.

The Melancholia exhibition was originally planned for March 2020, but due to Covid-19 it had to be rescheduled. Fortunately, the exhibition will now be on display at the Freud Museum from Saturday 17 October to Sunday 13 December 2020, including an extension to accommodate the second lockdown.

In melancholia, a person grieves for a loss he is unable to fully comprehend or identify, and thus this process takes place in the unconscious mind”.Sigmund Freud, Mourning and Melancholia (1917)

The Psychoanalysis Unit

The Psychoanalysis Unit’s mission is to break the mould of traditional approaches to psychoanalysis, taking inspiration from the discipline’s ideas to meet modern challenges. Our truly interdisciplinary research draws on a wide range of research methods and theoretical perspectives taken from neuroscience and clinical trials, anthropology, economics and history.

We run a PhD in Psychoanalytic Studies with over 25 doctoral students and also run four MSc courses. We aim to share the latest psychoanalytic ideas and run regular conferences and an interdisciplinary programme with lectures and seminars open to all members of the university and wider community. We have a number of national and international affiliations, including the Anna Freud Centre, the Menninger Clinic and leading scholars at Yale and Harvard Universities.

Artwork by Kasia Depta-Garapich, Holly Hewitt, Molly McFadden, Cherry Song, Anna Strøe and Ruby Wroe.

Learn more about the artworks here UCL: Melancholia