Anyone who has seen a major project, perhaps something life-changing, come to fruition can understand the anxiety that comes with it. Pouring your heart and soul into work that will be shared publicly, critiqued and judged is nerve-wracking at the least but might even make you a bit crazy.

For Australian artist Sabine Rossi, the period leading up to her huge new show at the Goethe Gallery is one of stress and self-doubt, as well as frantic creativity. But when she starts seeing the ghost of artist Carolee Schneemann, things take a decidedly strange and startling turn for the worse. Sabine is the center of Ella Baxter’s new novel, WOO WOO, a story of the artistic temperament tested to the extreme.

"The prose is witty and smart, even though the novel never answers some key questions about Sabine’s sanity and relationships.... Sabine is all raw emotion, and Baxter is fearless in writing this difficult character."

Sabine is a multimedia conceptual artist whose life is inseparable from her art. Known for large puppet-like costumes and self-portrait photography, Sabine is thrilled and nervous as she works to get her latest exhibit, “F*ck You, Help Me,” ready. Her husband, Constantine, and her closest friends are a comfort to her as her worries about the show spike, but they are also a frustration as they don’t always understand her art or actions. Constantine tries to soothe and placate Sabine, but his career as a chef is also demanding. He adores his wife, but she is needy and insistent that he give her constant attention. Even as her social media stream becomes more unhinged, her friend and gallery owner, Cecily, encourages her to use those platforms to drum up interest in the photo exhibition.

While billboards for the show are going up and journalists are coming around to interview her, and while she argues about how her images are going to be arranged on the gallery walls, Sabine may be losing her mind. Her thoughts and actions become increasingly manic and paranoid, and she tests the patience of Constantine and her friends. The ghost of Schneemann offers her advice, some cryptic and some useful. But is she really there, or is Sabine hallucinating?

In addition to the ghost, Sabine has a stalker, a terrifying figure she calls The Rembrandt Man. He watches her through her windows, leaving violent and threatening notes, and seems to be coming ever closer to acting on his threats. Still, Sabine continues to live-stream her days, making her daily life a performance, and sharing some of her most intimate moments with strangers who are not always fans. While erratic, weird, self-obsessed and a danger to herself, she is not without her charms.

Is Sabine’s mania temporary? What does The Rembrandt Man really want? Will the show be a success, or will Sabine sabotage her own work? Could this period of instability be one of creative inspiration and production as well? The prose is witty and smart, even though the novel never answers some key questions about Sabine’s sanity and relationships. Baxter does some interesting exploration on the ways in which art is inseparable from life and the lengths to which some will go to make their ideas and visions a reality to be shared with the world. Sabine is all raw emotion, and Baxter is fearless in writing this difficult character.

However, WOO WOO doesn’t quite come together as Sabine is too cartoonish to feel real and Baxter’s authorial intent is not apparent. Still, references to various art works add an intriguing layer for readers who want to explore them and make connections to Sabine’s story.