Four: “Mayor of Despair”

"Mayor of Despair": 24 x 36 x 0.75 - Close-Up

Ansel is often a prisoner in his own mind, and proclaims himself as the "Mayor of Despair." He finds it hard to venture outside of his physical comfort area because for him the outside world is a terrifying jungle of potential risks and missteps. He generally spends his days in a chaotic dance of checking, rechecking, and placating the unwelcome companion living rent free in his head.

"Mayor of Despair": 24 x 36 x 0.75 inches - Framed

He frustratingly lives under a permanent, darkened sky. Even the brightest summer days get filtered through the dark clouds of his intrusive thoughts. He often lives with a constant, screaming silence due to the clanging orchestra of anxieties screaming in his head. Ansel has christened the source of these thoughts as his “unwelcome companion.” The constant thoughts are relentless, specific and insidious. What if the plane he is on decides to not stay in the air? What if he has a heart attack while driving on the interstate? Will the bruise caused by bumping his knee on a coffee table eventually send a clot through his arteries that will stop his heart? Is the bump behind his ear a normal part of his skull or a developing, cancerous tumor? 

"Mayor of Despair": 24 x 36 x 0.75 inches - Framed Wall Shot

Ansel is desperate to stop the seemingly unending cycle of irrational, intrusive thoughts. He would gladly vacate his seat as “Mayor of Despair”, the question he routinely asks himself is, “how?”