Inside the Ache

Inside the Ache is a trio of cast aluminum sculptures that transform the invisible experience of chronic pain into tangible form. Each piece draws inspiration from vertebrae—structures that hold us upright even as they fracture or fuse under pressure. I twist and shape the metal while it is molten and vulnerable, allowing it to record every stress, fracture, and decision in the process.

Hand-twisted steel wraps around the forms like tension in the body: restrictive, protective, and persistent. Their intimate scale invites viewers to lean in, reflecting how chronic pain often exists quietly beneath the surface, unnoticed by others.

Through this series, I explore resilience not as recovery or perfection, but as adaptation—the ongoing negotiation between body and self, strength and ache.