F22.0

In psychiatry, ICD-10 F22.0 denotes the diagnosis of a delusional disorder. What is hidden behind this meagre combination of numbers and letters, however, is a mental maelstrom that sweeps all reality along with it in a powerful undertow. In Regina Hofer’s and Leopold Maurer’s graphic novel F22.0, the mental illness of the artist Regina Hofer is looked back on and reappraised, from the development of the illness to a stay in a psychiatric ward.

The delusional system, which was successfully softened by medication and finally completely dissolved, is viewed alternately from two sides: on the one hand, the internal view of Regina Hofer, who describes the illness as a sufferer, and on the other hand, the external view of Leopold Maurer, who witnessed the development of his wife’s delusional disorder as a relative. An unsparing and impressive account in strong, expressive black-and-white images that just won’t let you go.