artist thumbnail

Bethany NoelMurray

Migraine Aura & 'Narnia' Forests


Artist's Statement:
One of the main symptoms of chronic migraines is ocular aura. Roughly 25% of patients with migraines experiences this visual impairment, which is best described as a cascade of lights, colors, and shapes that can filter across one�s vision. Obviously, migraines aren�t great, and I have been managing my chronic migraines since I was ten years old. One of the very disturbing parts of a migraine is how beauty can be taken from me by pain., so I began painting my migraines to see magic and beauty instead of despair and pain. I realize that my vertigo, visual distortion, and light sensitivity is unique. While in the woods, it turns the ordinary into the fantastical. I experience being in a forest as if I�m Alice in Wonderland - perspective breaks, color is intensified, shapes stretch and collapse. It feels like I have access to a secret filter to the world, to see beyond the dull and grey. I want to share my weird, distorted, migraine-induced vision and help others find that key too.


picture

Woods on Fire
Acrylic
40" x 30"


picture
Northern Kingdom
Acrylic on black gessoed canvas
48" x 48"



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