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Mary Barnes

Mary Barnes played an important role in Dr Joseph Berke's life. It was the 1960's and with R. D. Laing at Kingsley Hall, where he helped Mary Barnes, a nurse who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, to emerge from madness and become a famous artist, writer and mystic.  

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A Life of Transformation

Joe Berke played a crucial role in Mary Barnes’s creative journey. It was he who first encouraged her to express herself creatively by suggesting that she scribble on the walls of Kingsley Hall. When he met her, she was making little progress towards recovery. After experiencing a psychotic breakdown in her 40s, and aware of RD Laing’s progressive ideas about mental health and the family, she sought treatment from him. She was the first to move into Kingsley Hall in 1965. She underwent regression and spent much time on the floor, curled into a foetal position, in a shroud-like box. She often refused to eat, drink or wash and sometimes smeared herself in excrement.

 

At that time, Joe travelled from the US, inspired to work with Laing. He was assigned to work with Mary at Kingsley Hall and they developed an intense therapeutic relationship. Their interactions included play fighting and occasional physical violence. Joe bathed and fed Mary from a bottle as if she were an infant. They discussed religion and spirituality. Mary referred to Joe as Big Bear. Their relationship may now seem unorthodox but at the time Kingsley Hall was a place of experimentation and a critical response to the medical model of psychiatry. Their experience together is documented in their jointly authored text: Mary Barnes- two accounts of a journey through madness (1971). The text has been translated into more than 10 languages and was adapted into an acclaimed play- Mary Barnes, by David Edgar in 1978.

 

Mary recovered from her mental health crisis and went on to assist Joe in his therapeutic work in London. They became close friends and Joe was custodian for a significant collection of her artwork, now part of the Wellcome Collection. Mary moved to Scotland in the 1980s where she hoped to establish a residential community for those in mental distress, and she continued to paint and write poetry. She exhibited artwork internationally and lectured on the importance of creativity to her own and others’ mental health. Joe and his wife Shree attended Mary’s funeral at the Chapel Royal, Falkland Palace, Fife in 2001. She is buried in Falkland Cemetery. Joe continued to promote Mary’s life and work after her death. He gave talks alongside exhibitions of her work in Nottingham (Art in the Asylum, Djanogly Gallery, 2013) and London (Boo Bah, Nunnery Gallery, 2015), and advocated to make a feature film about her life.

News & Updates

01/11/24

Doctoral studentship to explore Mary Barnes' life and legacy

A doctoral studentship awarded to Dr Amy Lineham will start in January 2025. The project is funded by the University of Surrey, in collaboration with Wellcome Collection.

01/10/24

Mary Barnes features in Art+Christianity

Victoria Tischler sheds light on the remarkable paintings of Mary Barnes in Art+Christianity no. 118 Summer 2024 in the Spotlight on Art feature - artandchristianity.org

27/02/24

Exhibition @ The Falkland Estate, Falkland, 1-27 February 2024

Rebirth & Revolution: the Life and Legacy of Mary Barnes.

01/01/24

Mary Barnes: archive - Wellcome Collection

Records relating to Mary Barnes' life and artistic process, including creative writing, writing about her mental health experiences and time at Kingsley Hall, scrapbooks and photographs, early artworks, and other personal writing and papers.

21/10/23

Exhibition @ The ARC Glasgow, 6-21 October 2023

The themes of crucifixion, resurrection, and her deep connection to nature feature, linked to her rebirth and recovery, and the sense of belonging she found in her adopted Scottish homeland.

13/10/23

Out of the Shadow

Review of Mary Barnes Rebirth & Revolution exhibit at Mazumdar-Shaw Research Centre, Glasgow University, Oct 2023.

13/10/23

Mary Barnes: A Tour of Works in Store @ Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, Glasgow

A tour of works by Mary Barnes in the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre store, led by Dr Anthony Lewis, curator of Scottish History, Glasgow Life Museums.

02/10/23

Falkland celebrating life and legacy of self taught artist Mary Barnes

This special event reflects upon Mary Barnes’s life in Scotland, her deep connection to nature and her spiritual beliefs.

21/09/23

Rebirth & Revolution! A celebration of artist Mary Barnes

A celebration of the life and legacy of renowned self-taught artist Mary Barnes (1923-2001) is to take place in her centenary year, as part of this year’s festival.

19/09/23

Rebirth and revolution:

Centenary celebration of Mary Barnes hails art’s power of hope, healing and recovery

05/09/23

Rebirth: a celebration of the life and work of Mary Barnes

Falkland Estate is glad to be celebrating the centenary of Mary Barnes, artist, writer and a Falkland resident during the 1980s and 90s and who is buried in Falkland cemetery.

05/03/23

Mary Barnes: Boo-Bah Review

Dr Victoria Tischler, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at London College of Fashion, reviews the show and the opening night.

Mary Barnes Performances

Stage Play: Mary Barnes (adapted by David Edgar) Performed in many cities in the United States, England, Continental Europe, South America and Australia.

Latest performances: Mermaid Theatre, London and Odyssey Theatre, Los Angeles, 1995

 

Radio: Mary Barnes (adapted by David Edgar) BBC Radio 4 June 95

Film: Mary Barnes (under adaptation in France)

Opera: Mary Barnes (possibly under adaptation)

Television: A Celebration of the Life and Work of Mary Barnes, Kinsgley Hall, 25 November 2001. Click here to see this programme
The Madness in Me (Documentary on the Arbours Crisis Centre), BBC 'One Life' series, screened on June 21 2005

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Dr. Berke with Mary Barnes

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