Since a car accident six years ago, when someone hit me hard from behind, I’ve been in pain. I suffered a whiplash injury to my lower spine, and have subsequently had all sorts of treatment in order to relieve or cure the pain. I’ve been through physio, chiropractic, acupuncture, surgery, and kineasiology to try to alleviate it.

There has not been a single day since the accident where I’ve been pain free - but I’ve got so used to it now, that it is a part of me. Recently, I decided to start a project in order to help myself to understand exactly what the pain is, how it feels, and what it means to me. I am now able to understand my pain from an objective, rather than subjective, aspect. The “analogy of pain” project has been something of a revelation to me, in the sense that I can now understand that I have to change my life, in a way that doesn’t revolve around the pain, but instead respects the pain, and allows me to understand that I have to be sensible. This photograph is one example of this project.

The post represents the spine; the barbed wire around it shows the pain “embracing” it, but also shows that I felt trapped by the pain and it prevented me from living my life the way I wanted it to be.

You can see more photos of this project by visiting my gallery at: http://www.pbase.com/nicksie/pain

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