‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’ - for artist Coco Warner-Allen, this holds true, and yet diamonds alone do not suffice. Diamante, beads, charms, trinkets, and blinging everything out - that’s her preferred style when it comes to navigating endometriosis - a chronic uterine condition. Self-medicating since she was 15, Coco’s creative practice stitches her adolescent years with endometriosis into humorous, coruscant pieces of art.

But what is endometriosis? As the endometrial tissue grows beyond the layers of the uterus, these anomalous growths induce a profusion of inimical symptoms. Pelvic pain, severe menstrual periods, and bloating are just a few. Curative treatments are presently null.

In 2024, Coco underwent a laparoscopy and excision surgery. The procedures investigated and removed the endometrial tissue, offering temporary relief, as endometriosis has a high chance of recurring and becoming cancerous in the future. Labelled as a ‘missed disease’, the under-researched and misconceived quandaries of endometriosis sustain its chronicity.

The act of ‘blinging out’ is not only an appreciation for a visual language dedicated to excess, opulence, and frivolous decoration, but a way for Coco to practice healing within a late-capitalist, patriarchal society. Sprinkled with popularised digital culture references and aesthetic homage to the Rococo era, Coco’s practice offers a cross-generational level of appreciation.

Drawn to its shimmer, shine, and jocularity, The Poorly Project lifts its magnifying glass to intimately explore Coco’s creative practice, seeking to understand what it means to have endometriosis, its influence on creativity, and how Coco is able to find a shimmering silver lining.

There is a comical element to artistry whereby the artist mirrors the art. For Coco Warner-Allen, it’s her jovial disposition, ‘girly-pop’ lingo, and unadulterated use of popular online references. Entering Maxilla Walk Studios in North Kensington, Coco leads the way into an unlit corridor, confronted by a thin strand of light peeking through the sill of a door. Opening the door reveals Coco’s comforting division of her shared studio space. A heat pad rests against a chair. A lamp illuminates the ceiling, and flecks of sparkle refract from the pieces hung against the walls. It’s an irrefutable fact: Coco loves sparkles.

As her creations wink as an invitation to admiration, studio visitors are susceptible to desiring a closer look. Approaching to inspect, the initial spark of intrigue is sobered by the sense that what they esteemed would be an exuberant piece of art, offers much more. Beyond her love for adornment, the great unseen motivator for Coco’s practice is the chronic uterine condition known as endometriosis.

“It gives off a very joyous, beautiful appearance that someone will be attracted to. They'll go up and look at it and realise that there is a deeper, darker meaning behind it. It helps people contextualize, understand and deal with sickness better because we're not really taught or encouraged to handle it very well”

“Sometimes, you need to look for the silver lining and silver beads. The diamonds of life. And that's what I try to do”

Coco would find the puzzle-piecing nature of embroidery to be a cure to idleness, purging the lingering feelings instigated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hand to hook, embroidery would become the cathartic creative medium sustained during bouts of endometriosis. Stitch by stitch, thread by thread; ruminative thoughts would be revisited, bejeweled, and transformed.

Embroidery would become a confidante to Coco’s years of silently navigating the ineludible pith of her condition, and a teacher in moments of over-exertion; a lesson in pacing oneself and granting grace when unable to create. The irremediable case of endometriosis admits to despondency, but the act of creating texturally-rich work that shines bright offers invincible value to protect and preserve her emotional well-being.

“Finding pockets of joy wherever you can is what I like to do with my practice” comments Coco.

Hidden within these pockets of joy lies a spritely panicle of memes, brain-rotting and viral TikTok videos, and Coco’s practice is equally as enthused with popularised digital culture references as it is for all that shines. Never one without the other, they exist as kindred spirits, sharing mutuality as grails of elation. In bedboundness and isolation, Coco credits the virtual farrago as a source of company during the absence of others:

“Memes, digital culture, tweets - it's all a form of connection. One of the biggest impulses is the connection that people get through humor, feeling seen and heard. It is a way to make people feel less alone in a world that is encouraging individualism and separation”

“It's really exciting to see people fight against it. Who doesn't love a funny cat video? That spans generations - especially if you're lying in bed and you're not feeling very well”

In agreement with the artistic standpoint that memes can be considered neo-Dada, Coco uses digital culture to travel contemporary chaos shaped by exposure to dichotomous realities. Digital culture becomes a wave of cross-generational collaboration, with access leading to online content being rehashed, parodied, and warped. Shared, propagated, and suffused into speech - Coco’s practice reflects the cultural milieu, entertaining endometriosis in order to cope.

‘She's so brave and well behaved’ (2025) makes direct reference to the popular meme of a dog being consoled by its owners before a visit to the vet. Soothed by the mantra, Coco embraced these words into her own visits to general practitioners and gynecologists. Capturing herself in multiple Photobooth windows, Coco dons a shirt that candidly shares her physical and emotional state - ‘My tummy hurts and I’m being brave about it’. A TENS machine adheres to her lower abdomen to alleviate menstrual pain. Bedecked by diamante, crystal beads, acrylic, and chrome paint, the multiple windows mirror the fervent need to repeat the mantra. At the same time, it concedes to the pain.

“With endometriosis, especially mine, there are a lot of the symptoms that can be very embarrassing - a lot of things like stomach and bladder problems. We don't like to talk about periods, bleeding, pain, and discomfort with sex and bowel movements”

“That's not polite conversation,” continues Coco.

“Even with doctors, I feel embarrassed telling them about the full length of symptoms. I've had doctors be in every single area of my body. It takes something from you”

Photobooth windows pay homage to the early 2010s digital self-portrait, captured in private and kept archived on laptops. Within the digital self-portraits, Coco offers a personal and corporeal exposure that comments on the conditions of medical subjection. Invasive medical apparatus and the discomfiture of medical nudity have led to Coco recognising her partially nude body as a vessel - one that inhabits experience and cultivates knowledge and morality around endometriosis.

“You feel another layer of separation between yourself and your appearance. Being diagnosed and treated for an illness can feel alienating. I want to capture that. It’s another reason why I made it. I can actualise it for myself. When I look back on it, I can see - I did go through that. That is me”

“The whole point of doing it on a desktop and on Photobooth is to encapsulate not only what I was going through medically, but also what you go through digitally as you use the online persona”

To every great online phenomenon, a decimating fiasco succeeds. Coco’s erudite use of cultural lexicon demonstrates this. ‘Cancel Culture’ (2025) explores how endometriosis influences our social lives. The term ‘cancel culture’ is traditionally reserved for social acerbities worthy of pariahism and retraction of public support. The act of canceling was initially led by the misconduct of internet personalities, content creators, and influencers. Now, household names, politicians, and even members of the general public are subject to social birching.

Unfurling from its original meaning, ‘Cancel Culture’ (2025) reflects how cancellation of plans spurs the feeling of social malpractice and friendship terminations. A rendition of the ‘where your email finds me’ meme, the piece presents more Photobooth windows of Coco. Unlike before, she is slumped in bed, with previous half-dressed captures staggered between the three windows. Text bubbles hover in the virtual void. A crown of serpentine stitches and sparkle, the triad of windows depicts Coco as the infamous Gorgon sisters of Grecian mythology. Elliptical pupils beget impassiveness, yet beyond the embroidered glare lies acrimony.

“I was made to feel like an evil monster for cancelling on people. It’s something that happens when you have a chronic illness because you'll wake up feeling fine, but something will likely cause a flare-up that you didn't even expect”

“I have a lot of anxiety around cancelling on people or making plans because I'm anxious all day or week long. Can I do my normal activities? Will I have enough energy for this? How do I schedule my life knowing that I have special and other requirements now?”

“Being cancelled for prioritising my health. I have to prioritise my health. And if I don't, I'll be cancelling my life”

The mythologisation of three sisters petrifying men into stone is rewritten in ‘Cancel Culture’, whereby endometriosis is now the repellent and protective shield from the ill-built foundations of friendship, winnowing care and compassion from objectionable relations destined to tragedy. In the wreckage of bygone camaraderie, Coco refutes the falsification and dramatisation of chronic health conditions, recalling utterances of denialism and dismissal.

‘Not just a bad period’ (2025) settles the score, pushing forth the invisibility of endometriosis and its creative visualisation within the body. A blood red, twisted, crystalline lattice stretching across her lower abdomen, Coco reappears in a Photobooth window. The deconstructed lattice, together with the acrylic paint, provokes pulchritudinous blight. The admirer is reminded: endometriosis is tombed within the body and will be resurrected as medically prophesied.

Speaking further into the misconstrued uterine experience, ‘The Four Seasons’ (2023-5) outlines the independent stages of the menstrual cycle - menstruation, follicular phase, ovulation, and lastly, luteal phase. Resembling a polyptych, there is faithfulness to the cycle - not unlike the contestable definitives of biology and the meteorological guarantee of the seasons. Coco influences the baroque fabric to distinguish the reality of each stage.

“I think it connects us all. Even if someone doesn't have endometriosis and does menstruate, we're not taught how these different seasons affect us, how they make us feel, how all the hormones in our bodies are very complicated and can get out of whack so quickly with the way that we live”

“Some of the research I was doing about the condition is that you can be born with endometriosis, or fetuses have been found with cells that aren't where they're supposed to be. The cells are called endometrial cells that grow outside of your uterus and multiply. They develop their own blood supply and hormones. Also, the condition has been known for over 2,000 years”

An ill-omened figure represents the luteal phase, twisted by a diabolical set of wings, horns, and a spade tail. With a red-thread uterus, its surroundings are sullied by discoloured beads and dull embroidery. The words ‘from hell, with love’ hang above her, and the markedly distinct nature of this stage reminds us of the peaks and troughs associated with the menstrual cycle. The significance of the demon is forefold: it’s the luteal phase, endometriosis, its inhabitancy within and gradual possession of the body. Much like the expected cycle, Coco’s relationship with her endometriosis and visual depiction appears as a sacred contract - signed with blood and impossible to terminate.

In defiance of endometriosis’ imposition, Coco summons a flicker of hope. Aided by her creative practice and forceful drive into the art sphere, compassion, knowledge, and advocacy are encouraged:

“The art world is ready because I say so. It's tough stuff, but art has always challenged difficult topics. It always brings the difficult things to light or makes it easier to talk about. It brings a bit more public awareness”

“I hope that at least one person in the world feels less alone, feels seen and heard. I hope to achieve more visibility to this condition, more people actually understanding what the word ‘endometriosis’ means or even reading a symptoms list”

“Compassion is probably the biggest thing I hope to achieve - everyone dealing with something that you can't see. Everyone's managing something. Be compassionate and curious about other people. Being kind is cool”

You can learn more about Coco on Instagram and her official site.

All Images Courtesy of The Poorly Project

COCO WARNER-ALLEN

DAVID MARRON