I also work with words from other people, currently mostly about the “advantages of being chronically ill” or life with the illness Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, also called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Please see below for examples of recent work.
WORKING WITH WORDS
In my “Tweet Paintings” series I paint tweets from a young woman who has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis”, a chronic illness that is not well understood. I paint one or two paintings a year and with this project we hope we can show some of the aspects of living with ME.
TWEET PAINTINGS
ADVANTAGES OF BEING CHRONICALLY ILL
This poster is inspired by ‘The advantages of being a woman artist” by the Guerrilla Girls and all the nonsense people with chronic illnesses have to listen to.
My artwork often expresses a feeling, a thought, or a political viewpoint. In its simplest form one can see those in my “What am I thinking?” series. These are done with stencils and watercolour on paper.
WHAT AM I THINKING?
The written statements on the eggshells are tweets from people who suffer from severe ME/CFS. It’s about the dreams they have, the things they want to do and the life they have.
ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) is a complex and mostly unknown illness. Often, the medical profession treats it as a psychological illness despite it being declared a neurological illness by the World Health Organisation in 1969. Patients have been mistreated for decades and the controversy about causes and treatments is ongoing. Patients with severe ME have one of the lowest qualities of life. There is very little money in the research of ME, there is no proper treatment (but a lot of mistreatment) and no cure. More money is crucial to understand the causes for this illness to ultimately find treatments that help sufferers.
I am very honoured and grateful that so many ME patients have replied to my call for statements via Twitter and email. I hope to raise awareness about this illness, that it will be known to more people, that patients are believed and that ultimately research finds causes, treatments and a cure.