The national discussion forum and community for UK Healthcare Professionals with an interest in acute, chronic, or palliative Pain Management.
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This page was last updated: August 23, 2007
The PAIN Exhibit is an educational, visual arts exhibit from artists with chronic pain with their art expressing some facet of the pain experience.
The mission of the PAIN Exhibit is to educate healthcare providers and the public about chronic pain through art; and to give voice to the many who suffer in abject silence.
Pain Talk is indebted to The Pain Exhibit for permission to reproduce some of their images, along with the artists notes.
Please scroll down the page to view the works, a link to The Pain Exhibit’s website is also included.
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After the harvest season, last year, I experienced a new set of pains. One was a grinding in my right shoulder when I lifted my arm. The other was more elusive: a burning in my right arm, which had nothing to do with moving that arm. It was diagnosed as "referred pain" from nerves in my neck and upper spine. After some physical therapy and trial and error, I found a way of holding my head/neck so as to diminish the pain. A new prescription quieted the inflammation enough so that I can sleep, finally, and my painting arm is back in business!
A Stab in the Arm
acrylic on canvas
30 inches long x 30 inches wide
Stan Cohen
Oakland, California
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The picture represents the isolation and imprisonment those of us with chronic pain and chronic illnesses feel. We see and hear what the outside world is offering but we are tied to our homes and our diseases. We are often unable to take part in any activities outside our sickroom. This leaves us feeling sad, depressed, hopeless, and helpless.
Living With Chronic Illness & Pain
watercolor on watercolor paper
14 inches long x 11 inches wide
Judith Mary Rose
Sonoma, California
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This piece represents the frustration both on the part of the physician and patient in diagnosing and treating chronic pain. It is not unusual for doctors to order the same test over and over again in hopes of understanding the cause of chronic pain. It also exemplifies how the patient often puts the onus on the physician to find the problem and cure it. In reality, it should be a team effort and in many cases there is no cure.
Title: Hey Doc, Have You Figured It Out Yet?
Media: mixed media, installation
Size: 10 feet high x 2 feet wide x 2 feet deep
Artist: Mark Collen
Origin: Sacramento, California
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Pieces of Me
black and white painted photography adapted with collage techniques
36 inches long x 40 inches wide
Judy Kay Merryman Cowan
Clinton, Arkansas
Artist Statement
My art represents the effect that chronic pain and illness has played in my life; broken pieces of the way I was before. I suffer from chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia and nerve damage that causes my hands and legs to become numb and painful even when not in use. Thus my project is truly a labor of love for every piece was painted/cut out/glued and mounted by hand. Till Heaven, I'll never be pain free. These illnesses and chronic pain have shattered my life into broken pieces. The photographs depict pieces of my life that are forever changed and how this daily pain, fatigue, numbness and spasms feel in “image form.” This project also contains verbal clips that represent the comments made by those who do NOT have chronic problems.
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This piece is one attempt to express the oppressive experience migraine sufferers' go through.
Migraine
threadpainting - a fiber medium - thread and fabric
14 inches long x 11 inches wide
Melissa Keith Hentges
Alexandria, Virginia
The works depicted above barely scratch the surface of the extensive collection on display on the PAIN Exhibit website (http://www.painexhibit.com/)
The artwork on this page has been reproduced with permission. Copyright remains with The PAIN Exhibit (http://www.painexhibit.com/) whose permission must be sought prior to any reuse
The PAIN Exhibit
