Protesica

Inspired by the trailblazing artist Frida Kahlo who demonstrated her constant and steadfast perseverance throughout her life. As a child aged 6 she contracted polio. Later she was involved in a bus accident, which damaged her spine and many other parts of her body. Throughout her life she remained resolute and defiant that she would not be defined by her chronic pain. Her paintings were a vent to express her experiences with life long pain.

After many years of chronic pain from lack of circulation in her right leg, tropic ulcers and gangrene in her right foot, her right leg from the knee down, was amputated. Frida Kahlo’s prosthetic leg was made of leather and steel, very heavy in comparison with modern prosthetics, she decided to paint it red and green reflecting her personality and colourful palette. The pain however, was so great physically and mentally - she could hardly bear it. She said that never in her life had she suffered more than after the amputation. The operation severely affected her mental well-being. She made only a few paintings after the operation. Frida Kahlo died a year after the operation on the 13 July 1954, aged 47 years.

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