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In the late 1930s Drs Eric Guttmann and Walter Maclay started a series
of experiments using the hallucinogenic mescaline.  In previous studies
both doctors had noted that many patients suffering from schizophrenia
wanted to make art in an attempt to 'explain themselves'.  However, they
also noted that only a minority of patients had the capacity to
translate their hallucinations into pictorial form.  These findings led
the doctors to invite professional artists, who they believed shared
their interests in the unconscious and irrational, to take part in
experiments involving the drug mescaline.  The results of these
mescaline hallucinations or 'experimental psychosis' are a vivid and
revealing insight into the psychology of those involved.

The paintings and drawings displayed in this exhibition are from the
Bethlem Museum's reserve collection and include work by artists such as
Julian Trevelyan, Basil Rakoczi and Herbrand Ingouville-Williams.