(UN)GESEHEN ((UN)SEEN)

The starting point for this work was a photograph taken during a migraine attack. The portrait was broken down into individual fragments, printed out, and reassembled on the canvas. Using gel medium, the photograph and the canvas merge into a single surface, while the visible gaps deliberately preserve the fragmentation.

This large-format self-portrait depicts a condition that usually remains hidden in everyday life. Migraine is an invisible illness - even during a severe attack, sufferers often don't show their pain. Here, profuse sweating becomes a visible expression of an overstimulated nervous system, making something tangible that otherwise remains hidden.

This very visibility remains ambivalent. It can foster understanding while simultaneously triggering shame, because profuse sweating is often associated with nervousness or a lack of resilience. The work thus oscillates between the desire to be seen and the need to protect oneself.

The fragmentation alludes to the experience of migraines as a condition that repeatedly disrupts the body, perception, and daily life. At the same time, the person portrayed maintains a calm and direct gaze. The portrait doesn't depict an overcoming of the illness, but rather a confident presence within its reality.

The pink-highlighted earrings represent everyday life, self-determination, and the desire to express oneself. Migraine attacks don't stop for special occasions or moments when people consciously adorn themselves and step out into the world. Simultaneously, their heavy chain links serve as a reminder of the burden that chronic illnesses bring to daily life. They become both jewelry and weight.