In this image, a migraineur sits by the pavement while many people pass behind her. I placed these figures at a different eye level to the migraineur to communicate their unawareness of her pain and her world perception. I also wanted to capture the inner and outer states of the migraineur. The trigeminal nerve extends metaphorically outside the body looping around the migraineur, gripping her physical body and debilitating her. The circle of light behind the migraineur symbolises the aura symptoms and the chronic nature of the pain. The choice of colours around the head reflects the pain described in first person accounts as hellish hot. Splashes of colour around her legs also convey the visual distortions experienced by the migraineur.
“Through this image, I wanted to communicate not only the debilitation and distortion that grips migraineurs but also the deep sense of isolation experienced by them.”
Koshika Yadava