God is a concept by which we measure our pain
Estelle Jobson
Artwork part of ‘Measurement’ Issue 10
Trigger warning: Pain, religion, needles, blood.
The Science
The title of the work is, “God is a concept by which we measure our pain”, which is the opening line of the song “God”, in John Lennon’s album, Imagine. The question “Are you in pain?” appears twice, referring to this oft-repeated question at medical appointments.
The image of Jesus was printed and transformed into John Lennon by adding his signature spectacles, bloodied on the right, and a halo of painted stripes, incorporating silver Hindu bindi stickers. Jesus also has a vertical, orange bindi, added to the zone of the third eye, turning him thus into a broader and more ancient spiritual figure.
“The PAIN SCALE” (hand-lettered and coloured in with pencil crayons) is a comical version of the more conventional one. Abstract stickers placed next to the faces represent pain, for when words fail. Bottom right in cursive, it reads “monthly shark attack”, which refers to the artist’s formerly (since treated) extremely painful menstrual cycle, exacerbated by endometriosis and adenomyosis.
The coloured scan of the brain and the photos of hands holding a syringe and a vial of blood were cut out from a medical brochure. The concentric swirls of yellow and purple are water-colour paint, with additions of pencil crayon, and a fine spray of purple-red paint achieved by flicking the bristles of a toothbrush.
Sources:
bebs@toywiz.com. “The PAIN SCALE”: https://www.flickr.com/photos/toywiz/8675212701
Bourdel, N., Alves, J., Pickering, G., Ramilo, I., Roman, H., and Canis, M.: Systematic review of endometriosis pain assessment: how to choose a scale?, Human Reproduction Update, 21(1), 136–152, https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmu046, 2015
Currier & Ives. Sacred Heart of Jesus: Sacre ́Coeur de Jesus / Saǵrado Coŕazon de Jesus. ca. 1835 - 1856, via US Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001704233/
John Lennon. “God.” Imagine. Apple Records, 1971. (Full song lyrics here: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnlennon/god.html)
The Artist
Estelle Jobson is a health communications writer, editor, patient advocate, and self-taught collage artist.
Copyright statement. This work is published under the CC BY-NC-SA license