Vertigo's Pain

Another masterpiece from a master creator. It is not easy to give the illusion of motion in a static image - especially when you are talking spiral motion - but this is as good as it gets when it comes to that challenge.

Lots of things work here. The main subject and its positioning are very well thought out and only revealing one eye adds to the uncomfortable feeling of dizziness you would expect from the title. The windblown effect of the hair has two impressions: first, that of the wind rushing past. Second, of the image being cruelly swiped by a rough brush (perhaps to suggest a slap or blow of the hand to send one spinning?). It's very obscurity adds spice to the aura.

Other uncertainties lurk in the eyes. No pupil in the one visible eye - suggestions of shapes. They could be several things - visions of pleasure or visions of pain or something entirely abstract. There could easily be pain in viewing pleasure after all (think of a loved one in someone else's arms, for example). The missing eye only makes the single eye more dramatic. Is it hidden under the hair? Or was it swept away?

The excruciating red scratch marks give the same cringing feeling one gets when picking up ground glass - something bigger than the sum of its parts. It is an excellent depiction of pain: the bruise under the eye, the nose marring, the lips and shoulders with their stripes (and worst of all, the suggestion of stitches in the mouth - perhaps implying that suffering is silent?).

There are horrifying visions of abuse, past and present, that bubble on the surface of this artwork. Like the movie 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' - this image proves that horror can be a thing of beauty as well as terror.