Bedlam: The Art of Graham Houston

by Graham Houston

Bedlam, the name of my gallery and everything else in my life.. Not just a name. The idea, the first mental hospital ever devised was called Saint Mary’s of Bethlehem. It was around 1250 A.D. At least someone somewhere realized we have a problem. Unfortunately it was immediately turned to making money, maybe they had to, to get food, tours of the institute were popular, the word Bedlam soon spread as the way the patients would describe where they were, St. Mary’s of Bethlehem, became Bedlam. And the word itself took on a meaning of its own, chaos, disorder. This suited my ideas just fine, my work is about chaos and order, my mental illness is a roller coaster I can’t get off. It makes me sick quite often. So this book is dedicated to my illness, my mental illness.For most of my time as an artist on this planet, I have endeavored to express my view of the world at large. Using observations of the social world of human interaction and the political world of nations in conflict. I have spent many years in refining a style or method which would attract the viewer to works which are often difficult to discuss, with the hope of doing exactly that, starting a discussion. This is far easier, in some ways, if there is a physical gallery to stand in with other people looking to think as they see. Otherwise in the digital age a discussion is very easy to have even without me at all. Something I always felt important in all the arts, the viewer doesn’t need the artist anymore, they have their own discussion with the work.

143 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 13, 2022