In 2005 Adelaide Damoah quit her successful career in pharmaceuticals after endometriosis made it impossible to live a normal life.
Bed bound, catheterised and in constant agony, at times, the pain was so severe she contemplated suicide.
Adelaide says: ‘I started having bad period pain from around the age of 17.
‘I used to assume it was normal but it got progressively worse as I got older. The GP used to advise me to take paracetamol and ibuprofen and said it was what came with having periods.
‘In my second year at university, I spent around three weeks in hospital as the pain was no longer confined to my periods and was excruciating.
‘However I wasn’t diagnosed until two years later in 2000, once I had private medical cover through the company I was working for.’
Living with endometriosis got so bad for Adelaide that she even considered taking her own life.
‘Before I had all of the treatments I had that helped me learn how to manage it, the endometriosis was an absolute misery. There were times when the pain was so bad that I could not move my legs. They wouldn’t move.
‘I’ve been catheterised and had to have bed baths. I’ve been in so much agony that I seriously contemplated suicide. It was mentally and physically exhausting and, at times, I couldn’t see an end to it so I just wanted to end it.’
She turned to art as a therapeutic exercise, creating autobiographical pieces by using her own body as a living paintbrush, a technique she views as reclaiming control over her body.
She says: ‘Art helped me to see something outside of myself and it guided me towards a more positive outcome. I left my job because I didn’t have a choice. It was physically impossible for me to do it.’
But, admittedly, when it came to being a full-time artist, Adelaide didn’t know where to begin.
‘I had no idea where to start, so I went back to what I knew which was business. I naively started by going to a business networking conference called Mind Of A Millionaire with my portfolio. There I met Simon Woodruff of Yo Sushi and Alexander Amosu of RnB Ringtones.
‘I kept in touch with both and they gave me general business advice. But on the same day I also met a business man called Emile Emiabata who told me he thought I was ready for a solo show. I didn’t believe him, but went along with it and together we came up with the concept of Black Brits – my first solo show – which we put on at Charlie Allen’s menswear boutique in Islington.’
Her works now sell for around £10,000 each, but her first piece sold for just £150 to her friend Yejide who, to this day, is her biggest fan and owns more of Adelaide’s artwork than anyone else.
‘It felt amazing and so unbelievable to me that she believed in me enough to part with her hard-earned money to own my work and also to support me. It meant a lot and I’ll never forget it,’ says Adelaide.
It’s been 14 years since Adelaide quit her job but she has arguably just had one of her most successful years yet: her worked has exhibited in five group exhibitions across London, she’s performed her art at UCL, the Tate, The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and at Museum Week, and she’s witnessed the value of her work soar by an incredible 436%. And she recently featured in a campaign by fashion house Chloé.
‘It was a wonderful opportunity to showcase my performance – “My Body is Present, Homage to Ana Mendieta” in an international campaign. It was great to see Chloé embracing diversity in this campaign.’
But, at the heart of it, art, for Adelaide, is still something that helps her cope with her endometriosis on a daily basis.
‘Making art is a meditative process for me. It calms me down and allows a deeper exploration of the self which is very healthy – especially as regards to mental health and wellbeing – which is useful for endometriosis sufferers. There are known connections between chronic pain and depression,’ Adelaide explains.
But art isn’t the only thing that helps.
‘To help with my endometriosis, I meditate, I do intermittent fasting and regular exercise to keep my weight down as excess fat exacerbates endometriosis. I no longer eat meat and keep dairy to a minimum. I keep drinking alcohol to a minimum – in fact I hardly drink at all now. Alcohol is pro-inflammatory so I want to keep my inflammatory markers to a minimum. I take rest seriously and try to get at least eight hours of sleep a night. I listen to my body and no matter what I have going on with work, when my body tells me to rest, I take the rest I need and work around it.’
But her art isn’t just about coping with her condition. It’s also a chance to take a look at so many other facets of life, society and humanity.
‘It has given me the opportunity and the luxury of learning about myself, my history, my family and to explore subjects that I would not have had the time to explore otherwise, such as colonialism and sexual harassment. It has given me a community to belong to and lifelong friends,’ says Adelaide.
Not only a voice for those who suffer from endometriosis, Adelaide is also a strong advocate for fellow women of colour. As a woman of colour herself, Adelaide understands only too well the complexities and nuances of multi sectionality.
‘Life can be tough for women of colour living in the UK for a multitude of reasons. We face double discrimination as a consequence of the intersection between race and gender so it is so important for your mental health to remain focused on the positive.’
Adelaide believes in fellow support, positivity and mentorship: things she has been fortunate herself to have and live by.
‘What has helped me is surrounding myself with sister friends who genuinely love and support each other. I am a member of a collective called the Black British Female Artist Collective (BBFA Collective) and I cannot express how important that support has been. Outside of the collective, I surround myself with incredible women who nourish and support each other.
‘This kind of support means we provide a safe space where we can vent as well as provide positive encouragement and swap contacts. Help yourself by helping your friends. Always think positive and face forward. Take care of yourself always, whatever that looks like to you. For me it is mindfulness, meditation, eating right and exercise.
‘Reach out to other people in your industry who you admire and ask them to mentor you. A good mentor can change your life,’ she says.
Adelaide could never have guessed where her endometriosis would lead to but it’s taken her on the most incredible journey of self discovery.
‘Art means everything to me. It saved me from despair and pain,’ says Adelaide.
Adelaide will be performing on the Main Stage at the Cannes Film Festival on 17th June. In mid June she will be at the 33 Art Sale (for the Rural Refugee Network) and Wish Africa conference. In November she’ll be taking part in ART x Lagos art fair with my collective – the BBFA Collective. Adelaide is represented by MTArt Agency, the world’s first talent agency for upcoming visual artists.
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