The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness

The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness is a masterful allegorical tale for the 21st century, weaving together the worlds of literature, music and visual art in the poignant story of one boy's journey into mental illness. Audiences are offered a mesmerising visual and auditory tour de force about beauty and resilience, society and belief, that at its heart expresses hope for a greater understanding and embracing of difference. The narrative unfolds around the metaphor of a tree growing within the boy, whose flower is ecstasy and whose fruit is sadness.

This luminous, multi-faceted work is inspired by the experiences of its award-winning creator, Matt Ottley, who has lived with bipolar disorder all his life and been hospitalised on numerous occasions in mental health facilities. Having personally experienced the prejudices and challenges that come from suffering a mental illness, Matt's aim is to offer a sensory insight through words, music and images into the experiences of those who suffer from such debilitating illnesses, particularly psychosis. At the heart of the work is a 50-minute orchestral composition by Matt Ottley, performed by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, tenor Ben Reynolds and narrated by Tina Wilson. This book comes with a CD recording and download link of the musical work, which forms part of this multi-modal work.

About the Author

Matt Ottley is an internationally acclaimed award-winning artist, author and composer, with more than 40 picture books to his name. His ground-breaking multi-modal work, Requiem for a Beast, won the Children's Book Council of Australia's Picture Book of the Year Award in 2009 as well as the Queensland Premier's Award for YA Literature. It was selected for the White Ravens catalogue in 2008.

In 2015 Matt was awarded the Patricia Wrightson Prize in the New South Wales Premier's Award for his illustrations in Teacup (by author Rebecca Young), and for the same work he received the prestigious Australian Honour Book Award (in 2017) from the International Board on Books for Young People, IBBY. In 2019 Matt was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards for his work on The Incredible Freedom Machines by indigenous author Kirli Saunders. In 2021 Matt's collaboration with author Meg McKinlay, How to Make a Bird , was joint winner in the Children's Literature category of the Prime Minister's Literary Awards.

It was also the CBCA's Picture Book of the Year, won the Western Australian Premier's Prize for Writing for Children, and was shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards. Many of his books have been shortlisted for the CBCA awards.