Mental Health

After her initial breakdown in 1958, Audrey suffered recurring mental illness. Until 1988, she lived with her mother who supported her and encouraged her to maintain the prescribed regimes of medication, but Audrey was increasingly reluctant to take the drugs which changed her behaviour and personality. Later when living alone, she received support from social workers. Her sister maintained contact but Audrey was often unwilling to engage.

She underwent a range of treatments according to the practices of each era, ranging through electro-convulsive therapy, a variety of medications and numerous hospitalisations, some in locked wards. After 1989 when her mother died, Audrey lived alone in her Clapham flat, writing daily and producing art. She was a familiar figure in the area where she shopped. She was involved in regular altercations which often involved the police and resulted in further detainment in medical institutions.

Outraged and oppressed by the treatments she received, Audrey campaigned for the rights of patients like herself, writing many letters, participating in protests and referencing mental health in later exhibitions of her art.