Billie Morris is an artist, and her practices of painting, video and design centre around the collective experience of living in a body.
Her approach has been heavily influenced by her journey of living with chronic pain, and having being diagnosed with fibromyalgia over 5 years ago.
I have followed and loved Billie’s work from behind a screen for a long time, and when we met in person and I learnt about her ongoing health journey, I was surprised to know the daily realities of what she experiences in her body, and despite that, how she shows up and shares her intimate practice with the world.
It got me thinking about our human condition, and how we live with, cope with and express what lies beneath the surface, and how we show up in our lives, work and craft despite all that we hold.
For this iteration of Body Language, Billie received a series of regular bodywork treatments over a period of a few months, and she has documented her experience of being with her body, tension release, breath work and nervous system down regulation through drawing, journalling, painting and video.
Here are some of our musings...
Georgia: What drew you to bodywork?
Billie: I was made aware of Georgia organically through friends - sharing the great experience they had had with her. People with different needs and seeking purpose in their treatment. I was desperate to find a practitioner that could combine approaches I had already tried (such as Bowen therapy, remedial massage) with a psychological approach and relevant interests when it comes to treating the mind and body.
Someone who could help me merge with the pain I experience, approach it with intuitiveness and not an urgency to ‘fix’ the symptoms. Breathe through, approach with curiosity and search deeply. I could tell immediately after reading more in depth about Georgia that it would be a perfect fit. I DM’d her the next day.
Georgia: How does your experience of your body and chronic pain influence your work?
Billie: My subject matter has always centred around the dysmorphia I feel. That term wasn’t even something I came across until my late teens, I think. I always held a resentment toward this casing I was born in, yearning for some relief from the constant discomfort and negative dialogue. I’m sure this has contributed to chronic pain being an issue for me in the first place. Mind and body connection, gut health, etc have only started being widely acknowledged in the last 10 years and now quickly have become buzz words. Understandably, I think, as I didn’t realise how widespread these issues are.
Georgia: What is your favourite way to connect with and and get back in touch with your body?
Billie: I try to use present moment meditation to find a place where I can accept the reality of it. Remind myself of it’s temporary nature and try to change the focus from ‘when will this end’ to ‘this will end’ As cliche as it sounds (cliches exist for a reason) I also try and practise statements of gratitude - I have feet eyes legs arms fingers to use to create. To assist me with this I love teachers like Alan Watts, Tara Brach, Byron Katie, Rupert Spira, to name a few. On the days I experience more debilitating pain I turn to my acupuncture mat, sauna and cold therapy.