What Art Has Taught Me About Embracing My Psoriasis

Art has shown me that visible differences should be celebrated, documented, and shown to the world.

Art, through its many forms, has a way of moving people. Art can make people stop and think, and it can help them view things in a different light.

When I was 18, I was officially diagnosed with psoriasis, a chronic autoimmune condition, after years of misdiagnosis.

As a teenager, with the pressure of meeting the world’s unrealistic beauty standards, the last thing I wanted to hear was that I had an incurable condition. To make matters worse, psoriasis is a condition that makes itself unavoidably visible in the form of red, flaking, and often oozing plaques.

For a long time, the shame and embarrassment I felt about the marks on my skin controlled all choices I made about my clothing, hairstyles, and makeup choices.

I feared how people would react if they saw the visible symptoms of my psoriasis. I concealed my plaques under layers of clothing and accessories. I applied makeup and tanning products on the areas I couldn’t clothe. I styled my hair in certain ways to disguise the bald patches and flakes on my scalp.

In recent years, one thing that has helped me accept my psoriasis is seeing how artists across many disciplines have shined a light on visible differences. These artists see differences, not as something to be self-conscious about as I had been, but as a thing of beauty and intrigue.

These artists showed me that differences could be celebrated, flaunted, captured on film, documented in print, used as muses for drawings, and crafted into material for comedy.

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Photography

Photographers have the ability to view the world through a different lens and capture beauty where others may not.

New York-based photographer Peter DeVito photographs people who live with “unconventional” markings in an effort to challenge traditional conceptions of beauty.

His shots feature models with physical attributes historically deemed to be “imperfections,” like psoriasis. He’s also photographed models with vitiligo, freckles, acne, albinism, and birthmarks.

In one of his collections, he photographed models with objects that other people compared their skin to. The images were accompanied by a short piece written by the model about how those comparisons made them feel, how they overcame them, and how they learned to love the way they looked.

The series highlighted the lasting impact words can have, encouraging people to think twice before they comment.

Illustration

I often associate drawings, cartoons, and illustrations with fantasy worlds, but the illustrations of Filipino illustrator Annelyse (restingitchface) tell a different story.

Through her art, Annelyse illustrates the realities of living with chronic pain due to a chronic condition. She shows the world her experiences with medical devices, medications, and the mental and physical impacts of living with psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, and fibromyalgia.

Annelyse brings visibility to some parts of living with a chronic condition often not seen or talked about publicly. Her illustrations, especially those from her #FlawedButBeautiful collection, played a big role in changing how I feel about living with a chronic condition that affects my visual appearance.

She made psoriasis into art, interpreting skin plaques as unique constellations that should be looked at in awe, like how the subjects of great Renaissance paintings were viewed.

Seeing how Annelyse depicted psoriasis symptoms in this way encouraged me to recognize the strength it takes to bear them. I found that I could accept and love the parts of myself I once never imagined I could. I stopped seeing my psoriasis as flaws.

Modeling

Modeling always requires confidence, but modeling without your shield demands bravery.

Irish-born model Amber Jean Rowan made the bold decision to pose without her hairpieces to raise awareness for alopecia areata.

Rowan has spoken about how, when she was growing up, she never saw someone who looked like her in the fashion industry. This concept resonates with me, and it’s something I could relate to from my early modeling years.

Like Rowan, I didn’t see myself represented in media when I was younger. The models I saw on magazine covers and strutting down runways were never dotted with patches of psoriasis.

From a young age, I was conditioned to view the marks on my skin as things that made me undesirable, unattractive and unwanted. Ahead of photoshoots and catwalk events, I would conceal them.

I genuinely feared that, if anyone saw my spots, I would be banished. I imagined being cast out of the modeling industry and blacklisted. Rowan’s work sent the message to me that times are changing.

Comedy

Humor is often used as a vehicle to discuss complex or difficult topics. Comedians frequently use experiences from their own lives as material for their sets. Sharing real-life situations that their audiences can relate to is often what makes comedians’ content so engaging.

Comedian Jon Lovitz uses comedy to get people talking about psoriasis. He’s been on national TV, spoken on radio segments, created a musical parody, and even created an educational website, all to open up the conversation about psoriasis.

Writing

Nowadays, there are more people, like myself, writing about their experiences living with psoriasis, but John Updike was one of the firsts. Updike shined a light on psoriasis and forged a pathway for future psoriasis awareness advocates.

Through his writing, most notably his 1985 New Yorker short story “At War With My Skin,” Updike documented undergoing treatments and the psychological impact of living with psoriasis.

Updike was one of the first to undergo ultraviolet (UV) light therapy when it was still in its experimental stage. Like many, he found his psoriasis reacted well to sunlight, claiming, “only the sun, that living God, had real power over psoriasis.”

This statement conveys the lack of power and control he felt over his condition, something I have also experienced. He refers to sunshine as a weapon in his, “war against the red dots.”

He also referred to living with psoriasis as, “the sense of another presence occupying your body.” This notion really resonates with me. I have often viewed my condition as a separate entity from myself. Sometimes, my psoriasis feels like something I have to learn to co-exist with.

Updike also spoke about the impact psoriasis had on his mental state, a topic that still doesn’t receive the attention it should. He wrote about how he didn’t like the reflection he saw in the mirror and longed for it to change.

Updike’s writing offers readers who are also living with psoriasis, like me, a sense of comfort.

What I’ve learned about the power of art

The power of art should not be underestimated.

Through photography, illustration, modeling, comedy, and writing, these artists, and so many others, have communicated important messages about beauty, generated discussions, raised awareness, and instigated change.

Their art has empowered people like me, people living with lifelong stigmatized conditions, to know we do not need to suffer in silence. Their work has helped break down the stigma around visible differences and started an open conversation about better understanding and recognizing of them.

Being exposed to the works of these great artists inspired me to use my own voice and my own art to raise awareness about psoriasis.

I use my skills and the resources available to me as a broadcaster, to create easily accessible and credible audiovisual pieces to help other people treat and manage their condition more effectively. I created the Itching To Tell You platform to give a face and voice to the silent condition that is psoriasis.

I hope my work encourages others to speak up and advocate for meaningful change for the psoriasis community.