Art expressing the endometriosis experience

Art has been produced to portray the human experience almost since the beginning of time. In recent years however, art has been able to communicate some of the deepest and most raw experiences of people's lives.

Women are beginning to produce some very powerful and explicit art which expresses how it feels to deal with the pain and suffering of endometriosis.

Ellie Krammer - paintings

One young woman who is producing some very powerful and dynamic paintings about the experience of endometriosis is Ellie Krammer.

The 27-year-old Australia is known for her graphic oil paintings of nude women covered in menstrual blood—the inspiration of which comes directly from her own battle with endometriosis.

After struggling to come to terms with how endometriosis was changing her body, Ellie came up with a way to work through her experiences - through painting. The driving force comes from Kammer's Stage II Endometriosis and adenomyosis diagnosis which she only learned of at 24 after years of unexplained pelvic discomfort.

'I had also been painting for a little while and had established that I wanted a career in fine art and had the technical skills, but I never really felt I had something to discuss in my work until the diagnosis.

‘The paintings have served as therapy.. they’ve kept my head above water through the difficult ordeals that endometriosis has dealt me and for me they’re sort of like time capsules.'

She hopes that her paintings will help those suffering to feel less alone, and to motivate people who don’t have the condition to learn about it. Ellie now has to manage her endometriosis with surgeries, other procedures, speciality foods, vitamins, probiotics, and contraceptives.

Georgie Wileman - endometriosis photographs

A photographic portrait depicting a woman’s struggle with Endometriosis is one of the images that was shown at the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition.

Georgie Wileman’s photographs is of her scar-laden stomach and powerfully illustrates the debilitating nature of her condition, which has seen her undergo five keyhole surgeries. The full 19-part photographic series featured candid shots of Wileman curled up in bed and also included images of her bloated stomach and her stained bed-sheets.

Other women are also starting to use visual imagery to express how this disease makes them feel. These images portray the pain and distress they feel in a very graphic manner.

The pain endometriosis causes can be so intense that it drives some women to go to the ER to try and get some help and relief from the pain. Producing images of their experiences can help to communicate and hopefully reveal to others what they have been through.

Image from Endo-strong

Image for Endo Awareness

Digital art by Marie Germain

Pencil drawing of menstruation

Drawing of Marilyn by an endo warrior Grace Woolford - the text on the image are excerpts of the letter that Marilyn wrote to her her surgeon asking him to not remove any of her organs.

Some of these images are produced digitally, which enables them to be shared more easily and to help spread the message about the whole experience of living with a disease like endometriosis.

Endometriosis Poetry

A selection of poems written by endometriosis sufferers describing their own experience of dealing with the disease. Writing can be therapeutic and many are writing about their endo experience either by writing articles for endometriosis support websites or writing their own blog pages.

Art expressing the endometriosis experience

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