‘IN PAIN’
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
‘In Pain’ a series, exploring the subject of suffering. Pain is a universal human experience. Defines pain as "an unpleasant
sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such
damage." Pain may be a symptom of an underlying disease or disorder, or a disorder in its own right. Although pain is an
universal experience, it is also a complex one. It is often silent and unseen but present. While the physical sensations
involved in pain may be constant throughout history, the ways in which humans express and treat pain are shaped by
their respective cultures and societies.
Concept /Idea of the proposed activity
The idea of the project was originally inspired by the concept of depression. Most people have felt sad or depressed at
some time in their lives. Feeling depressed can be a normal reaction to loss, battles with self-esteem, life's struggles, or an
injury. But depression is just one of those emotional pains. Within the series protruding objects often depict the
localised/specific pains that are experienced by the person. It is symbolic rather than specific in nature. People can
experience many forms of crippling pain that cannot be visually seen or clearly understood and defined.
There are various forms of human suffering the ways in which we see that suffering. People may suffer from a variety of
circumstances, such as harmful natural conditions (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and bush fires and other extreme
weather conditions), harmful political conditions (dictatorship or anarchy, war or terrorist attacks, restrictive/legalistic
governments) and the impact of displacement and immigration to family, support and culture. Harmful social conditions
(inability to satisfy basic human needs, such as hunger and thirst), harmful emotional conditions (inability to
satisfy one's emotional needs for company, belonging and acceptance, the need for decent work, perspectives for
one's future and self-respect through the freedom of self-determination).
In this series I am exploring the emotional agony experienced when in pain through photography.
The confronting scenes provide the audience with unsettling visions that often will unsettle and inspire thought through
the rough and explicit images.
Whilst feeling unsettled it challenges you to explore pain and the many sides to that pain whether it's ongoing, sudden or
specific in nature.
Technical statement
The photos in this series were taken with a Canon 5D mark III , natural light and manipulate in Photoshop. These photos
provide a illusion of pain that is not observed in everyday life but is a reflection of pain depicted within a staged,
narrative. Given it is not situation that we could possibly experience in real life; it provides an opportunity for observers to
interpret what is conveyed through the photography and their own personal experience and connection to pain.
The series include 8 up 10 images in 50cm by 60cm.
