I am very, very excited about this! I just found an art installation done by Eugenie Lee, a Korean artist who works in mixed media to converse about health, chronic pain, and illness. Lee’s piece was done in collaboration with Body in Mind, a research++ organization from the University of South Australia, and spearheaded by chronic pain expert Lorimer Moseley.
This piece is called McGill Pain Questionnaire, by Eugeine Lee from 2012. Please visit the external link to the artist’s website.
Still photo of McGill Pain Questionnaire
McGill Pain Questionnaire in motion
Art is an amazing way of expressing oneself, and art means something different to everyone. I was always taught that creative outlets could help me express how I feel, and expand how I think about things, while soothing the soul letting my brain dream up whatever. I am so thrilled to find some art pieces about chronic pain, and more specifically with a university and researcher I believe are world class in the ongoing battle against chronic pain.
Now- how do I feel about this piece? Please take a look at it before you read on…I think it is fucking brilliant. The striking, painful visual of barbed wire contrasted with the tall, stark, white office drawers all too familiar and representative of a chronic pain patient’s endless, paper-filled battle in a system not designed for us. The painful noise and screech of it as it turns endlessly. The title is absolutely great as well. The McGill Pain Questionnaire was a series of questions put out by McGill University in the 1970s, to attempt to rank, and represent pain as the patient reported the sensations with a series of word choices. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is at the top of the McGill Pain Index, and is often quoted by patients in an attempt to convey the pain we feel. I think titles are very important, and nothing gets me like something named all sassy-like. This. Title. Is. Perfect.
I hope you enjoy this piece of art as much as I did. Eugenie Lee’s other installations are also very interesting and wonderful to look at. I would highly recommend looking at more of their art, and also checking out the Body in Mind group. I will set up other links below. ❤
It Is What It Is 