Géza Csáth: Opium bookcover

Csáth’s Opium is a mix of nonfiction and fiction. It contains parts of the diary of a mentally ill woman and the notes and analysis of the doctor examining her. I wanted the cover to show this duality: we can see the troubled notes of the woman’s diary, handwritten on some wrinkled paper, which are left on the hospital bed: it brings us back to the reality of the mental institution.

The portrait of the doctor also appears as a photo on the bed, the symbolic world of the patient and the real, analytical word of the doctor this way combined. I have copied some passages from the diary on some old paper I found, and after scanning them didn’t prove to be effective enough I have photographed them on a white bed sheet, then added the blue line digitally, so it gives the look of a real hospital bed. For the endpaper I’ve scanned an old notebook and for the hardcover the title and name of the author are handwritten, so it gives the impression of a diary.