'Soft Centre'

July 2026 | Illustration, charcoal and soft pastel on paper | ANU Medicine and Fine Arts course, final project

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The skeleton is built to protect the body’s delicate organs, but sometimes that protection isn’t enough. This diptych, made in charcoal and soft pastel, depicts a contrecoup concussion, in which the brain is injured on the side opposite the impact as it collides with the inside of the skull.

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The work was inspired by my participation in a study examining the effect of headgear on concussion risk. Head knocks were long overlooked in the AFL, yet growing research has revealed their cumulative effects, including memory impairment, chronic mood disorders, dementia and addiction. The piece expresses my growing awareness of the brain’s vulnerability, and of how repeated head trauma can have consequences that emerge years after the initial injury.

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