Honorable Mention / 2024 / Portraiture / Self-Portrait

Piercing Stillness

I suffer from chronic pain in my face. “Trigeminal neuralgia…is sometimes described as the most excruciating pain known to humanity.“ (AANS) It appears as an intense, electric shock-like pain followed by stabbing sensations, subsiding into a dull ache and fatigue. It can be triggered by chewing, smiling, talking, or a gentle breeze hitting my face. There is no known cure, and medical treatments have proved ineffective. The only relief I have found is through acupuncture. There is a strange juxtaposition between the discomfort of having needles stuck in my face and the healing they bring.

Awards Official Selection, International Photography Awards 2023