Christopher Williams

My name is Christopher Williams, and I am an Art
Therapist Arts, Musician, Handicap Advocate, and for
better or worse an Epilepsy Warrior.
I was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1977 as an
underdeveloped and unexpected "triplet bonus" to the
twins who all thought my mother was expecting 2
children instead of 3. That I survived is still a mystery,
but I choose to believe that there was a meaning to not
crossing over then and there.
Since childhood, I’ve lived in a borderland between life
and death, between normality and disability, between
activity and paralysis of action. My borderland is
governed by my epilepsy, which is from a benign tumor in the left hemisphere of my brain.
Throughout life, my brain damage and epilepsy have both closed and opened borders
seamlessly.
When I was little, I spent almost as much time in hospital as at home. I was often told that I
would live for a maximum of 40 years. I’ve crossed that border now, despite all the years and
thousands of severe seizures, surgeries, and strong medications. Many doctors also say that I
have crossed the line of what is possible with my type of brain injury. Based on the severity of
my condition, I should not ebe able to talk or move normally.
My family: mom, dad, big sister and my two triplets, have handled my illness in different ways.
Denial, hope, despair, anxiety, and panic. School was more torture than education because I
had difficulty focusing, I missed many lessons and I was constantly bullied, both physically and
mentally.
When I discovered art, everything changed. It was the salvation from the constant threat of
when the next attack would come and how strong it would be. Through creation, I crossed the
border into another world where I was not bound by my illness.
The passion for creation and creativity has not made me healthy, but it has given my life
meaning and allowed me to continue to fight. When I step into the world of art, I can forget my
constant struggle against epilepsy, and against the isolation and discrimination it entails. In the
creation I can find a calm, filled with inner images and the works I create on the canvas.
Although epilepsy has prevented me from achieving certain things, like being forced to quit my
job as an illustrator for Disney World in Florida, I have always found strength in art. I’ve alsohad the privilege to help other people (with similar conditions) feel better through utilizing the
creative tool. In addition to being a trained artist, I also have a degree in Image Therapy which

is a recognized form of therapy in the United State. In Sweden, it is not an establish form of

therapy, but I am working to change that.
When I think of the people, I’ve worked with over the years, I feel grateful to have contributed
to bettering their lives through creation and creativity. Some of them had never been able to
express themselves in speech and writing, but thanks to art, they crossed the border into
communication with the outside world. Sadly, many of them are no longer with us today and
some who are still with us are here because I’ve personally saved them from severe attacks.
Epilepsy wears the body out physically and emotionally and any seizure can be fatal.
To increase my chances of a “normal” life, I agreed in 2007 to undergo advanced brain surgery,
as all previous attempts to find a cure had been in vain and my body and psyche would soon
not be able to cope anymore. During the operation, a complication arose, and I again crossed
the border into death. But I returned to life and got the obvious question from everyone: "Did
you see the light in the tunnel?" Yes, but what really happens when you cross the boundary
between life and death, between earth and heaven, between a pumping heart and stillness? It
took two minutes before I was back in life, and during that time I experienced an illusion of a
girl talking to me with her beautiful eyes. Without words, she expressed that it was not time for
me yet. A year later, my first daughter was born.
Unfortunately, I was not cured after the operation, but over the years I have developed
strategies to control my seizures. For the most part, I am very active; I paint, walk, and play the
piano and guitar. Even with as active as I am, everything can be stopped by with an epileptic
attack. I become petrified, imprisoned in my own body, I can see and hear but I cannot move or
talk. I often see yellow and blue stars and sometimes I think "this is the last attack, NOW I am
dying". After a few minutes, everything is over, but a headache and the feeling of exhaustion
which can linger for a long time.
In my works of art, I try to create the element of borders. I want to describe the borderland that
I live in. It is full of strong colors and patterns, a kind of chaos with both clear and fuzzy
boundaries. In the middle of everything that is vulnerable and unpredictable, there is also the
beautiful, which I often depict with motifs from the animal kingdom. The animals represent my
sense of what is important in our lives, and they remind us of how fragile life is. A feeling of
harmony, acceptance and not taking anything for granted, in a world where boundaries can be crossed without warning.
www.instagram.com/christopher.j.williams

artbycwilliams77@gmail.com
Tel: 

Utbildning
2009     Masters of Creative Arts Therapy, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY (dipl. bildterapeut/ bildpedagog)

Activity-based therapy using expressive modalities such as art, music, drama and movement within a special education, rehabilitation and psychiatric setting. www.pratt.edu/academics/degrees/graduate/art_therapy_and_creativity_development_mps/ 

Including fieldwork/internship experience from: 

Federal Employment Guidance Services, New York 2007-2008.

    Working in therapy sessions with deaf individuals suffering from psychiatric illness, particularly schizophrenia. 

    Developing inventive therapeutic techniques to enhance communication through art and music making.

www.fegs.org/#/behavioral_health/psychiatric_rehabilitation/cdt/

    The Block Institute, New York 2008-2009.     Focusing on sensory therapy with mute adult clients with severe Mental Retardation / Developmental Disabilities (MR/DD), utilizing creative modalities and sensory stimulation as tools for behavioral intervention and quality of life enhancements. www.blockinstitute.org/daytreatment/index.shtml See www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Fsgmmubf0

2003    Bachelor of Fine Arts (in Illustration), Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY   

www.fitnyc.edu/2374.asp

Medlem i konstnärsförening
KRO/KIF

Med i konstrunda
Konstrundan i Midsommarkransen

Utställningar
UTSTÄLLNINGAR
2021 konveckan på slottet i Uppsala tema Gränser med Galleri Z
2017 Epilepsy Portrait, (to be announced), Stockholm
2017 Konstnärligt, http://epilepsi.se, Stockholm
2016 InPractice, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2016 HiddenTruths, Grey Matter Museum, Costa Mesa, California
2016 www.disabilityarts.online: Showcase/art-catharsis-christopher-williams
2013 Coffee Bean, Telefonplan, Stockholm
2009 Pratt Institute Thesis Exhibition Brooklyn, N.Y.
2005 Snug Habour, Staten Island, N.Y.
2001 911 Exhibition, Society of Illustrators, Manhattan N.Y.