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Prism of thorns

Melissa Shaw

2026
Lead pencil on artist paper

Prism of Thorns captures the raw, electric shock of an initial diagnosis, when pain is not yet familiar, but overwhelming and all-consuming. From my hands, sharp, branching forms extend outward like fractured light, each thorn a pulse of sensation that splinters into confusion and fear. These jagged extensions converge into a tangled mass, symbolizing the sudden entrapment within a body that feels both foreign and unrelenting. The image reflects a moment where understanding has not yet caught up with experience, where the intensity of multiple sclerosis manifests as chaos-heartbreaking, painful, and impossible to ignore.

Prism of thorns by Melissa Shaw

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