(122) Den Haag Dagmarkt, The Seven Sorrows Collection

The Seven Sorrows Collection

Lying in a prominent position in the Middle Panel (Second Lower Section) of The Collection is (102) The Helmet of Invisibility, which is borrowed from The Visit to a Small Planet Collection. This helmet is an important key to understanding The Seven Sorrows Collection. The helmet was probably placed there to signify the craving to acquire powers of invisibility, which is a reference to the mood of the visitor during the stay in Den Haag. (See also (140) Dining Alone Invisible, The Visit to a Small Planet Collection) The Seven Sorrows Collection is divided into seven parts ; Depression, Loneliness, Anger, Nervousness, Pain, Indecision and New Shoes. Many details within this collection seem to reveal an underlying depression or melancholia, which (53) Plan for The Seven Sorrows Collection, The Seven Sorrows Collection consolidates. Within the plan we find such works as (54,92) New Shoes, The Seven Sorrows Collection, New Shoes which refers to excessive walking and constant wandering around the city;

“ I bought some New Shoes, they rubbed like hell and I lost three layers of skin”  (53) The Plan for The Seven Sorrows , New Shoes (1) and Pain (1),(56) Scraped Thumb, The Seven Sorrows Collection, Nervousness which is an obvious reference to nervousness;

“One day I got so nervous that I picked my thumb so much it started to bleed.” (53)  The Plan for The Seven Sorrows , Nervousness (1), and the more poignant  (122) Den Haag Dagmarkt, The Seven Sorrows Collection, Depression which illustrates a song written on the hand while shopping in the Dagmarkt, “I became totally depressed. I was in the Den Haag Dagmarkt - I burst into tears in the fruit and veg section. Lionel Ritchie was playing - which made matters worse. I wrote a song on my hand.”

It always seems to happen

- in the supermarket

A turn for the trolley

- was a turn for the worst

It’s all gone misty

It’s all misty and blurred

It’s bloody absurd

Lionel don’t say a word

It’s a den, and it’s breaking my heart

It’s a den, my life’s falling apart

In the den, in the Den Haag Dagmarkt

N.B To hear this song go to Grrrrrrradio Podcast 004 'Man Eating Tiger'