Documenting the fluctuating states of turmoil and euphoria women often encounter since her 20s, artist [Vivienne Boucherat](https://www.vivienneboucherat.com/)'s compiled several decades worth of her mixed media “madwomen”—Bad Hair Days, External Fears, Internal Fears, Self Medication—into "[Know Your Crazy](http://knowyourcrazy.net)_."_
“They felt like these little mad women running round and round in my head with nowhere to go,” says Boucherat, “so I had to draw them to get them out and get a different perspective on them.”
Using multimedia collages, monoprints, cutouts, and drawings in pencil, watercolors, inks, and oil pastels, each sketch, printed on museum-quality, archival paper, originates from Boucherat’s own feminine point of view, yet reflect real-life insecurities, anxieties, and misfortunate—even more _joie de vivre_ and motivational pieces_—_regardless of sex. Throughout “Know Your Crazy,” Boucherat’s misshapen figures are depicted in various conditions: Not Measuring Up, Captivation, Overwhelm, Isolation, Old Bat, Cougar, Sometimes You Just Can’t Breath, Passions.
“I personally believe crazy is good,” says Boucherat. “It's necessary. I’m a little bit crazy. I know it's a bit of a contentious word, but it’s not meant to be derogatory. You can see if your problems are actually problems, or if they're just something that you can laugh at, get help for, or just laugh at yourself.”
Initially conceptualized back in 2017 after friend Cindy da Silva, an artist manager based in New Jersey, was captivated by the “mad” women she discovered at Boucherat’s London studio, urging the artist to release her crazed works to the world as a book. By 2019, Boucherat, along with da Silva and friend Rene Harbison, who runs a production firm in Austin, began work on the project.
While on tour with British Invasion rockers The Zombies—Boucherat’s husband Chris White was the original bassist as well as songwriter and producer—she remembers one band member connecting to a mock up of the the book, which was eye-opening for her since she never intended to exclude men. Calling the phrase “Know Your Crazy” more of an Americanism, it was something Boucherat had never heard before, but it fit, and added UK-isms Bingo Wings, representing flabby underarms or “bat wings,” while Boucherat’s Mind Frog illustrates the mental effects of a bad hangover, insomnia, or the confusion and hot flashes of a menopausal brain.
Recently relocated to Salisbury, England, where Boucherat and her husband initially moved to work on a project with Zombies founding member Terry Quirk, who sadly passed away in June 2020, these days the one “Crazy” piece Boucherat relates to most is Tidying Up, whether it’s physically sorting out belongings or clearing the mind.
So many years later, Boucherat is still enraptured by her crazy women and has a backlog of works she may compile again and has been opening “Know Your Crazy” art to discussion and interpretation.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of her limited edition Picture Box Set, featuring 8” x 10", museum quality, art reproductions, and a copy of the book will support an artist-specific charity, and Boucherat is completing an a cappella rendition of “Hold Your Head Up,” a song White co-wrote for his band Argent in the early ’70s originally as a song of empowerment for women. “Hold Your Head Up, Woman” features donors from around the world singing on the track.
* [](https://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742115006-72C8M2WUFP0J1SETUGNH%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-4.jpg&t=Flaunt%20Magazine)
* [](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742115006-72C8M2WUFP0J1SETUGNH%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-4.jpg&text=Flaunt%20Magazine)
* [](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742115006-72C8M2WUFP0J1SETUGNH%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-4.jpg&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742115006-72C8M2WUFP0J1SETUGNH%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-4.jpg&description=Flaunt%20Magazine)
* [](https://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742121002-YY3G5F0KE5GUS5IEQE2N%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-1.jpg&t=Flaunt%20Magazine)
* [](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742121002-YY3G5F0KE5GUS5IEQE2N%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-1.jpg&text=Flaunt%20Magazine)
* [](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742121002-YY3G5F0KE5GUS5IEQE2N%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-1.jpg&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742121002-YY3G5F0KE5GUS5IEQE2N%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-1.jpg&description=Flaunt%20Magazine)
* [](https://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742121117-O0H3NXJTA5R4P6SYAPVS%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-2.jpg&t=Flaunt%20Magazine)
* [](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742121117-O0H3NXJTA5R4P6SYAPVS%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-2.jpg&text=Flaunt%20Magazine)
* [](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742121117-O0H3NXJTA5R4P6SYAPVS%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-2.jpg&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614742121117-O0H3NXJTA5R4P6SYAPVS%2FFlaunt-Vivienne-Boucherat-2.jpg&description=Flaunt%20Magazine)
Now disseminated through assorted channels, Boucherat is proud her mad women are finally free.
“Society sort of compels us to keep it a bit hidden if you're seen as a bit different, or anything that can labeled as crazy, but I don't actually actually mind that as a label,” says Boucherat. “However you understand the word crazy, I think it does help in this sort of fluctuating sort of society that we live in. I think it helps to have your own little bit of crazy. It gives you a little bit of space around yourself, and it doesn’t feel like such a frightening, negative thing.”
* * *
Order the book and enter Vivienne Boucherat’s “Crazy” world [here](http://www.knowyourcrazy.net/).
.jpg)
