The Art of Migraine

By Derek Robinson

The Headache Research Foundation at Faulkner Hospital is pleased to welcome you to the only American showing of "The Art of Migraine".

This exhibit presents the best drawings and paintings from four national competitions held in the United Kingdom beginning in 1981.

The majority of contributors are amateur artists, and all contributors are migraine sufferers.

Migraine Art is a means for patients to show what they see while suffering a migraine and how they feel during such an attack. Through this art, the physician can better understand the patient's condition and the public can better appreciate the migraine experience.

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In the United Kingdom, "The Art of Migraine" is sponsored jointly by the British Migraine Association and Boehringer Ingelheim Limited, a multi-national pharmaceutical manufacturer. Derek Robinson, a long-term employee of Boehringer Ingelheim, developed the concept of Migraine Art and is its curator.

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Our goal in presenting "The Art of Migraine" is to increase society's understanding of migraine sufferers by making visible what these patients see and feel. The symbols and visions are shared and repeated over time, as is the pain.

Although migraine is not a fatal condition, its pain is debilitating. Many non-sufferers inadvertedly contribute to the social isolation created by migraines as well as by other types of headache.

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"The Art of Migraine" contains three categories of drawings and paintings:

Visual Disturbances depict patients' views of the world during a migraine attack.

Pain presents the physical sensations of migraine patients.

Social implications show the consequences of migraine to patients' lives.

The Headache Research Foundation is also pleased to present the 1987 winners and runners up for "The Art of Migraine" competition, which was judged last month.

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Visual Disturbances

When experiencing a migraine attack, patients see the world differently from times free of symptoms. Note, for example, the use of stars and zig-zag patterns called fortification spectra, named for their resemblance to the jagged boundaries of medieval towns.

These visual disturbances vibrate and flicker, and they move over time, frequently going from small and dull to large and vibrant. Visual loss is also a recurring characteristic of Migraine Art, as if a section of a scene has been erased.

Overall, contributors use bright colours to indicate the violent nature of the suffering. Some patients also present visual hallucinations with geometric structures. This is not a hallucination in the sense that it is made up. Instead, it is a way the brain functions, telling the physician about the organization of brain cells in the cerebral cortex that controls vision.

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Pain

The art in this section indicates sensations of pain patients feel. Symbols to express this feeling include the pounding of a hammer, the tightness of a band around the head, the violence of a drill aiming for the eye. Tears are another frequent visual image.

The quality and intensity of this pain is also expressed through the use of bright colours. This time, however, the colours represent not what patients see, but what they feel.

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Social Implications

Migraine attacks impose limitations on patients. Migraine sufferers are restricted in their social and occupational interaction, and they must be careful not to expose themselves to excessive heat, glare and loud noise.

You'll see no enjoyment of beach scenes – too hot – or rock concerts – too loud – in this art. Frequently, gatherings of family and friends depict the migraine sufferer as alone and apart.

(Derek Robinson, unpublished texts displayed on boards accompanying the Migraine Art paintings during the exhibition "The Art of Migraine", November 2-7, 1987)

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