Ellie Kammer is tired of the lack of awareness about endometriosis, a life-changing and debilitating gynaecological condition that affects one in ten women. So she decided to turn her suffering into art, in the hope it will get you speaking.
Ellie Kammer was 24 when she was diagnosed with endometriosis, a gynaecological condition that occurs when the tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grows instead outside of it, putting women in chronic, often excruciating pain that sometimes results in infertility. Still shockingly misdiagnosed and under-researched, this condition is estimated to affect one in ten women worldwide, and around 2 million women in the UK. Frustrated mostly by the lack of awareness, Kammer, an artist based in Adelaide, Australia, puts brush to canvas and makes spectacular paintings out of the condition

In a recent interview for Huck Magazine Krammer said that her diagnosis in December 2015 “completely shook my world” she goes onto describe her journey with endometriosis so far and the pain of recovery and details the way in which painting as a way of informing people of the condition and it’s impacts is the only way she knows how to communicate.

How would you describe your experience of endometriosis for someone who has never heard of it?

It’s different for everybody. For me, the pain is always there, every minute of every day, which is limiting in that I have to make decisions that I never used to have to make and consider how long I will spend on things, like how long I’ll work, or whether I have the energy to make myself dinner. I have to really think about how I’m going to trade my energy for the day, whether I can actually work or I need to sit down and rest all day so I can work for the rest of the week.

It’s constant pain, and it affects my mind, how I handle situations, and how I talk to people. Sometimes I become a little impatient, or I just spend an entire conversation focusing on breathing through the pain.

You can read the full interview and view more of Ellie’s inspiring art here

Kindly reposted from Huck Magazine article originally posted on February 21st 2017