Chronic Pain and Other Fables

Installation 2019

Videoprojection on textile and tapestry of watercollorpaintings

Pain portraits are projected onto layers of sheer fabric, visible for all to see. Yet the layers only allow one moment to appear at a time. Protected by veils. Only by stepping inside the installation can you begin to see the whole picture.

The work mirrors the reality of living with chronic illness: showing only parts of oneself to the outside world, while hiding the greater weight of it behind a mask.

If you dare to enter the installation, you will discover a quilt of small watercolor paintings.

Each piece is a portrait of a moment of pain. Every color represents a different kind of pain. As I paint, I map the sensations in my body; later, I sew the fragments together into a larger image of these experiences.