Dear Pain is a zine that documents the lived experiences of women living with chronic pain. The zine contains interviews letters and body maps made by participants of a chronic pain workshop put on with Trafford Carers as well as my own personal recollections. The zine attempts to shed light on the experience of life for those with chronic pain through the use of tactile materials that put a strain on the body such as print and ceramics I have attempted to translate the experience of pain for myself. It uses commonly associated imagery with pain such as the concept of medical dolls etc. and reframes them hopefully. Individually put in a mono-screen printed jacket, Dear Pain, reflects the idea that the lived experience of pain is unique and not something to be hidden. Within the zine, it questions how we talk about pain and its role in our lives and invites us to consider it as a slightly unwelcome friend who visits us.
Dear Pain, is a zine that attempts to interrogate how we talk about pain and give a space for women who live with it to share their testimonies of life with chronic pain.