surely i could talk about all the photographically technical finesse that was proven here. but what struck me most about this image was the presence of contrast in here.

on the one hand we have beauty: the pretty face of the artist, her neatly arranged hair that is adorned with a flower. on the other hand we see the act of self-inflicted pain, which is powerfully demonstrated by all those bruises and fingers that seem to carve deeply into the flesh. her facial expression is everything but happy, but there are also no real signs of feeling the opposite: i would rather go with the term 'stoic' here. her expression, neither reflecting agony nor pleasure, gives the viewer a feeling as if that's the way it's supposed to be - pain as routine. helplessness, too.

to me, this picture is rather a blend of different emotions than just an account of just a single exaggerated one. this way it manages to keep a big variety of interpretive possibilities, instead of merely leading the way semantically from a to b. its meaning can be differentially read. it's something the viewer HAS to deal with; hence 'CrushCrushCrush' is a textbook example of simplicity that unevitably leads to a certain impact on the viewer, whatever that may be.