VIVID images of a head on fire and an alien in a tunnel are just some of the paintings in a new exhibition.
Migraine sufferers have used canvases to show people what they go through when they suffer an episode.
They were invited to a specialist workshop to express their pain through art.
The works are on display today at Ferens Art Gallery in Hull until September 29, dates chosen to incorporate Migraine Awareness Week from tomorrow to September 7.
Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust's specialist headache nurse Vicky Quarshie ran the painting workshop and helped organise the exhibition.
She said: "It is interesting to see and identify the different features of a migraine.
"People think it is 'just a headache' but all different senses, even taste and smell, can be affected.
"Some people don't suffer pain either, they suffer from dizziness or their vision is distorted instead."
About 15 people from across Hull took part in the art therapy session, held at Hull Royal Infirmary earlier this year.
Their finished works of art, together with information leaflets from the Migraine Trust, form the exhibition.
One painting, by Bryan Hodgson, shows a tiny person in a room with distorted and bent bookcases.
Bryan said: "As a child I suffered from strange episodes when I was either tired or stressed, which usually consisted of my mind processing the things around me in completely the wrong proportion.
"Looking at a wardrobe was like looking up at a skyscraper – everything felt much larger and far away, leaving me feeling tiny and enclosed.
"Imagine looking backwards through binoculars."
Vicky, one of just a handful of specialist headache nurses in the country, says Bryan's condition is called micropsia – also known as Little Person Syndrome or Alice In Wonderland Syndrome.
She said: "It is believed Lewis Carroll had it, and that Alice In Wonderland is actually about his experiences.
"When Alice is getting bigger and smaller, that is what he felt like."
Another image, by Andrea McLean, shows one side of a head on fire, with a green neck symbolising a sickness in her throat, rather than in her stomach.
A woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, painted an alien in a rainbow of colour – symbolising the fact she felt alienated and saw things like she was in a tunnel.
Couple Sarah and Terry Johnson also took part in the painting workshop.
Sarah suffers from migraines, while Terry did his painting from the view of a sufferer's spouse.
Terry said: "It shows someone banging their head on the wall because no one is listening, they are all chatting and laughing."
All the paintings in the exhibition are very different, which Vicky says might be surprising to some gallery visitors.
She said: "I hope it helps raises awareness and takes our message to a wider audience, that wouldn't necessarily have known or attended the workshop at the hospital."
The exhibition and workshops were run by the British Association For the Study of Headaches, the Migraine Trust and Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Visit www.migrainetrust.org for help and advice.
