1. Allegory
2. Art motifs
3. Book design
4. Creativity
5. Emotions
6. Empathy
7. Fables
8. Fantasy
9. Imagery
10. Imagination
11. Literary techniques
12. Mental health
13. Metamorphosis
14. Metaphors
15. Multimodal narratives
16. Music
17. Perspectives (Art)
18. Resilience
19. Sound
20. Surrealism

‘The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness’ is an ambitious multi-modal work for ages 15+, exploring one young man’s experience of psychosis. The work draws on Matt Ottley’s own experience of living with Bipolar Disorder. Ottley states: ‘I wished to create a narrative, in the form of a fable, that, through the combined art forms of literature, visual art and music, gives audiences an aesthetic experience of a psychotic episode’.

He does this by centering the story on the metaphor of a tree, ‘whose flower was ecstasy, and whose fruit was sadness, growing within him’. Medication works for a while, but the tree pushes through, moving his mind into an altered state. This is represented by increasingly surrealist paintings and imagery. The man is eventually grounded by the love of his friends and family.

The music was composed partly by Ottley during a severe episode of his illness when he was not able to understand speech, but could compose by transcribing the cacophony of instruments in his head. He collaborated with another composer, Alf Demasi. The music was performed with the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno, conducted by Mikel Toms, with solo tenor Ben Reynolds and narrator Tina Wilson. The multi-modal nature of the work, and its tendency to contribute to community engagement, personal wellbeing and the generation of other creative work, fulfills the publisher’s vision at Dirt Lane Press.

Unlike his earlier work, ‘Requiem for a Dream’, this picture book has sparse text. It is interspersed with 74 paintings and illustrations, which have also been made into a 50-minute animated film with the same name. The accompanying music is available as a CD in the back of the book, as well as a free download on the author’s website. Extensive study guides and music resource notes are available too. These would help make a lively unit on textual analysis for upper secondary and university courses, focusing on themes of empathy, joy and suffering, subjectivity and the nature of reality.

1. Paperbark Joy in Books Blog 1 Mar 2022 interview by Joy Lawn with Matt Ottley including a review from Magpies: Talking about Books for Children (Vol 37 No 3 July 2022) https://paperbarkwords.blog/2022/03/01/the-tree-of-ecstasy-and-unbearable-sadness/
2. Matt Ottley website ‘The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness Music’ Download the music, watch the recording of the music and an excerpt from the 50-minute film https://mattottley.com/the-tree-of-ecstasy-and-unbearable-sadness-music-download/
3. Matt Ottley website ‘The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness’ Study Notes for the book (free) prepared by Robyn Ewing AM and Joanne Purcell https://mattottley.com/product/the-tree-of-ecstasy-and-unbearable-sadness-study-notes/
4. Matt Ottley website ‘The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness’ Resource Music Resource Notes (free) https://mattottley.com/product/the-tree-of-ecstasy-and-unbearable-sadness-music-resource-notes/
5. ABC Radio National interview 3 Mar 2022 ‘Stockman, bull-chaser, artist, best-selling children’s book author: the many lives of Matt Ottley (15 minutes) https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/stockman,-bull-chaser,-artist,-best-selling-childrens-book-aut/13778060
6. The Guardian interview 8 June 2022 with Susan Chenery with Matt Ottley ‘A visceral experience of psychosis’: why one artist spent three years painting bipolar disorder’ focusing on the author’s personal journey with bipolar disorder. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/08/a-visceral-experience-of-psychosis-why-one-artist-spent-three-years-painting-bipolar-disorder