THE INFLICTING IMAGE
The inflicting image is an entity of imposition. It embodies unpleasant emotions, such as pain and suffering, to plague the viewer with lasting discomfort. The viewer tends to hold the power to draw their own meaning from an artwork, regardless of what the artist’s intentions may be. The inflicting image knowingly refutes this, instead having little room for interpretation as it understands and wallows in what it is. The trauma from seeing it freezes the viewer in place, and this interaction is never on the viewer’s terms; the inflicting image operates completely on its own agenda. In fact, this image is forceful, ruthless, and sadistic. It is always present, always waiting just out of peripheral view, until the viewer is comfortable enough to not expect it. While the viewer holds autonomy to look away, the inflicting image requires little visual contact to create its lasting discomfort. As that is the image’s ultimate goal: to cause effects that outlast the image itself.
