I’m creating a series of 1000 self-portraits documenting my journey with chronic face pain.
Making art has become a powerful way for me to express and externalise pain. When I enter a state of creative flow, I can find peace and focus away from pain. The pain is still there, but it becomes less dominant, and I can focus instead on colour, line, shape, movement and expressing without words.
Through Face x 1000, I want to make visible the often invisible experience of chronic pain, and show how it can affect a person’s sense of identity and everyday life. I hope that if you also live with chronic pain, illness or an invisible disability, my art will resonate with you, help you feel seen and remind you that you don’t have to face it alone.
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Every face counts
There is no judgement and no self-censorship. Every artistic depiction of my face that I create – irrespective of whether it is subjectively ‘bad’ or ‘good’ – counts towards the 1000 artworks.
The self-portraits can take many forms – they can be abstract or different-looking faces, but if I still identify with them as expressing some part of me, they count.
Every face counts, in all their messiness and variety. It’s part of accepting the ups and downs of everyday existence of pain, being less self-critical, being human and showing vulnerability.
No pressure
The project has to adapt to my health, energy and what is accessible to me at the time. There is no time limit and no daily commitment, although I am fully committed to reaching 1000!
There’s no pressure to exhibit, sell or share my artworks in any way. This project is very personal and sacred to me and will be completed in my own way at my own pace.
Full creative freedom
I can use any visual medium I want to express myself. From tiny doodles to big paintings, physical or digital art, I use whatever feels accessible or of interest to me at the time.
It’s essential to have the freedom to experiment, try new things and change direction. In some ways, this mirrors my experience of living with chronic pain: searching for answers, going down different routes, trying different treatments, adapting, starting again and seeing what happens.
Flow state is more important than the outcome
Being in a state of creative flow is more important to me than the outcome. It’s about being in the moment with the art, with the pain and the joy.
There will be artworks that I like more than others, but the value is also in the process: focusing on colour, line, shape and movement, allowing the artwork to unfold, and accepting what flows out without overthinking.
