Nick Keesing – Tower of pain

Artist: Nick Keesing

Title of Piece: Tower of pain

About the Piece: The piece has been taken from a tarot card known as ‘the Tower’. The original has been significantly altered and rendered into a watercolour via manual digitization and printed and mounted on a backing. It is almost unrecognisable as the image that provided the inspiration.

The tarot card ‘The Tower’, depicts a great building often with a person falling to their death from its heights with lightening striking at and bursting forth from its walls and windows.

This card signifies utter failure, a fall from normality or grace, a deep wrongness or suffering where, on the face of it, the normal course of events would be triumph.

I am a 6ft 2” 105 kilo athlete and graduate who used to play cricket with the likes of Mr Darryl Tuffey and competitive football. I always have suffered mild discomfort, but in the last 14 or so years, the unknown condition that I have in my abdominal region (from pubis to sternum) has worsened into a chronic pain problem, preventing even my sitting at a computer for any length of time; it is hurting me right now sitting up and typing this out. I have to lie down every few hours to ‘rest’ my intestines as they are continually under pressure. It is steadily getting worse. I loathe opiates, so my options for pain relief are severely limited.

As I like to write as well, this illness has completely taken the enjoyment of life away from me, the things that I do well are disallowed me and life as a result is much poorer as a result. I am forced to be on an invalid’s benefit, which incidentally, the National party are trying to shift me off of. If I fail in my battle with the assessing WINZ ‘pet’ doctors, this will result in extreme poverty for me as a sickness benefit is considerably less income. Life sucks at this point in time.

The Tower motif I feel, communicates this in succinct and stark fashion.

About the Artist: (1)   Chronic genetic gout from age 18, doesn’t respond to medication

(2)   Intestinal disorder, incurable swelling of large intestine, pressing on diaphragm, had it for 14 yrs now, getting steadily worse

(3) I paint, draw cartoons, write, public speak and engage in occasional activism; have been published in national media and reported on by international media in news, national radio, FHM, BBC.