Can You See My Pain? Evocative Objects for Comprehending Chronic Pain

Chronic pain presents a rather unique design challenge. Unlike the traditional view of pain, in which it is often to be averted, chronic pain cannot be simply done away with. Thus, the emphasis of our approach is to address pain as revealed and expressed. We adopt a research by design approach for creating evocative objects for chronic pain management by developing solidarity. The paper develops on critical perspectives on pain and embodiment in conjunction with the design process to arrive at an evocative object. These objects enable supporting solidarity between the one who suffers and the one who seeks to understand the suffering.