Nicole Brunel’s Pain Index takes us back to the early days of hyperlinked artwork. With a similar format to Patchwork Girl by Shelley Jackson and Mouchette by Martine Neddam, The Pain Index is a labyrinth of links that guide the viewer through a swirl of fiction, history, and theory about the oppression of gender, race, and sexuality. Approaching these topics with a certain touch of playfulness, Brunel reflects on the different types of pain experienced by contemporary oppression and how these interactions force us–all of us–to react and interpret our role in the conversation.

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Make sure to check out Izzy Pezzulo’s response to The Pain Index here.

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Nicole Brunel is a Canadian artist currently attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s studio arts graduate program. She/they studied Painting and Sculpture at the Alberta College of Art + Design, and at the New York Studio Arts Residency in Brooklyn. W.P.’s varied art practice considers the relationship of humor to social justice. Before becoming an artist, Brunel worked as an archaeologist and a musician (separately). It was born with 4 kidneys.