Visualizing Chronic Pain: A Conversation with KYRIANNA

A photo of artist KYRIANNA with her self-portrait. In this podcast episode she discusses translating her chronic pain into surrealistic artwork — A photo of artist KYRIANNA with her self-portrait

KYRIANNA is a watercolor artist based in southern Oregon, who creates striking images that visualize chronic pain and illness. Since these conditions are often invisible, KYRIANNA provides a profound opportunity for her clients to see a representation of their conditions. Her process involves an in-depth interview that she calls a “therapeutic visualization process,” in which she gets to know her clients history and experiences with their condition, while also asking more esoteric questions like, “What color is your pain?” She then translates these answers into realistic portraiture with surrealistic elements layered on top to represent the pain or illness. As you can see from the examples in this article (and on her website KYRIANNA.art) the results are strikingly beautiful and haunting.

A visualization of chronic pain by KYRIANNA, showing mushrooms growing out of a patients head — Artwork by KYRIANNA

In this episode of the Major Pain podcast, KYRIANNA discusses her artistic process as well as her personal experiences with chronic pain. She lives with a base level of pain every second of every day, mostly in her back, that can flare dramatically and spread throughout her body. Frustratingly, doctors have never been able to pinpoint a cause for her pain. Spinal stenosis (a narrowing of the spinal cord) has been discovered on imaging, but doctors have no idea what might be causing this to occur. KYRIANNA is at a point in her journey where she needs to put down the search for a diagnosis and focus on living in the moment, expressing her journey through her art as a way to both process what she’s experienced and detach from her constant pain.