The Pain Chronicles
The Pain Chronicles is a publication project commissioned by the psychology team Great Ormond Street Hospital. This project involved the illustration, design, artworking, formatting and layout of a short story written by a young sufferer of Osteogenesis Imperfecta.
The short story imagines the patient’s chronic pain and resilience as humanoid entities locked in an eternal battle. Working under the art sector at GOSH, I created a series of spot images and spreads that reflected the author’s artistic vision.
The goal of these images was to emphasise the experiences and narrative described by the young author, rather than simply repeating written word in visual form. Using a mixture of digital and analogue techniques, I created two distinct styles. The hand drawn elements were used for characters and objects grounded in physical reality, such as the protagonists and the world they interact with. The more abstract and vague style used for the antagonist ‘Catcherers’ and benevolent ‘Angels, was used to demonstrate their more metaphorical presence, conveying the author’s personal imagination of pain and perseverance. I was able
to push the boundaries far further with this area of the project branching out into a wide variety of mixed and found media
Infographic Posters
Alongside Great Ormond Street Hospital’s commissioned work, I created a series of posters dissecting elements of living with Osteogenesis Imperfecta. I chose a more reality-grounded focus for these images, working to explain the experiences described in The Pain Chronicles
in a more objective way.
This series’ main goal was to educate the viewer of Osteogenesis Imperfecta, delving into more scientific elements and beginning to explore how the academic side of medicine can intertwine with the empathetic side. By dissecting elements such as genetic profiles, therapeutic aids and bone structure of effected individuals, I
wanted convey relatively dry information in an engaging way, making this accessible for people with any level of academic background.
Whilst symptoms were of course important to highlight, I wanted to emphasise the full scope of living with the condition. A chronic illness is more than simply its symptoms, and it was important to me that this was conveyed in the imagery I chose to use.
