Radene Marie Cook / PainArtist.com

Pain - Divided Soul

Look closely at the images on each side of the canvas. See what used to be whole or bring pleasure now shows brutality and the two are intimately tied together. That is the reality of a life hit by chronic or intractable pain. This piece shows the dilemma that every intractable pain patient is forced deal with: the socially acceptable face we present in public and the private horror going on inside, behind the smile. The scarred trunk is a nod to a personal horror I share with thousands -- Adhesive Arachnoiditis and Central Pain Syndrome.