Each of the paintings constituting the series entitled Mind Games is a self-contained study of human relationships thwarted by Narcissistic abuse. The paintings are self-reflexive in that respect that they feature in-depth analyses of highly intellectual psychological techniques, such as gaslighting, ghosting, dehumanization, and pursuing-distancing. The self-reflexivity increases the feelings of claustrophobic closedness of the world of the paintings demonstrating the severity of
the problems they deal with.
While being crystal clear about the methods of manipulation, the paintings emphasize the devastating mental effects of this kind of abuse on the victims, who, in the majority of the cases, are codependents. Each case-study, viz. painting, presents the perpetrator in action and the partial disappearance of the victim’s self, agency, confidence, worth, his/her entire being. The calculated coldness of the perpetrators radiating from each painting demonstrates that this sort of manipulative power exercised over other human beings causes mental health problems and not
simply emotional reactions. In fact, narcissistic abuse is an existential issue for the victim causing emotions to disappear.
Currently, these paintings have a special relevance, as the lockdowns, which we keep
experiencing during the recent pandemics, greatly amplify the harm caused by Narcissistic mind games. Furthermore, by systematically confronting and analyzing narcissistic abuse, the paintings highlight the relevance of this phenomenon to our society in general, as our ongoing social processes, particularly consumerism and lack of spiritual values, increasingly turn narcissistic behavior into an at once actual and symbolical social issue.