No Pain No Gain?
Part 1
How might we better understand and explore all the facets of chronic pain in an inclusive conversation. This project will be surrounding the idea of pain and how experiences of pain can range for a person with chronic pain. My intention by bringing such a topic to the table is a sort of call for reflection and observation. My hope is that in walking away from the experience of interacting with my project my audience will better understand the weight of this issue and feel grateful for their state of being.
My Story + Inspiration / The idea to go in this direction for an independent project was an easy one. In my GD3 class we were asked to design an animated book cover (pictured on the right) and I immediately thought of a book that got me and family through my last year of high school. Understanding Chronic Pain (Angela J. Koestler, Ph.D., and Ann Myers, M.D.) was a book that was part of the start of my understanding of what was happening to me after I was in a bus accident. I was in constant pain and no one really believed me or could comprehend the idea of not being able to heal. When I started reading about Fibromyalgia (Chronic Pain) I began to feel less alone and more empowered. This project was the starting point to wanting to educate others about different types of chronic pain and how it can have a negative impact on ones mental and emotional health. Many of the books that are written on this subject seem visually overwhelming and dry, so my intention was to make the content approachable and consumable.
Zine Content / The process of designing and finding content for the zine I found helpful in overall research around pain. I was particularly focused on chronic pain as a reaction of an overactive nervous system. From there looked at several different pain management remedies, such as acupuncture. Whats important to remember about chronic pain is that there isn't necessarily a "cure", but there are "management" techniques that can make life much more comfortably livable.
Poster Content / This series of posters are meant to reflect but not mirror one another. All written content is the same.
C4D Environmental Poster Integration / After having created the set of posters I wanted to construct an environment for them for documentation. What was the mood of the posters? How would a terrain/environment reflect that mood? How do you illustrate the feelings of pain and of temporary relief? I decided I wanted to design a rigid, sharp habitat for these posters to live in. With that being said I also wanted to incorporate moments of rounded visual/physical alleviation. Much like bubbles, pain management is typically short-lived.
