Artist Statement:

Kristy suffers from the most severe form of endometriosis that has taken over her entire life, but you wouldn’t know it looking at her on any given day. I was incredibly moved by her story & the sadness of hearing how she often lies on the bathroom floor, alone in the middle of the night, waiting for the pain to stop. For Kristy, having an invisible illness means her reality & pain can be questioned or easily dismissed.

As someone who suffers from an invisible disability myself, I am passionate about shining a light on what people don’t see. Endometriosis affects 1 in 9 Australian women yet most suffer alone - unable to get the help they need simply because they look “normal”. The truth is, we never really know what someone else is going through, but we can always choose to be kind.

These photographs were published online and in the media for Endometriosis Awareness Month 2023 in Canberra. From this body of work, Kristy and I were invited to Parliament House, on a local radio station and featured on a podcast to discuss these pictures and the story behind them. To read more about Kristy’s personal story, please see this Canberra Weekly article.