Allison Tunis And Collaborators | The Chronic Illness Art Project

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Allison Tunis, “The Chronic Illness Art Project,” no date

(courtesy of the gallery)

Opening Reception: Friday, October 13, 7-9pm 

The Chronic Illness Art Project is a collaborative portrait series between visual artist and community arts facilitator Allison Tunis (she/they) and nine other individuals throughout Canada who identify as chronically ill. Over the course of three years, Tunis individually connected with each collaborator through a back-and-forth conversational process, discussing their illnesses and the experience of being chronically ill in the world today. As a result of this process, ten double-sided embroidery and mixed media portraits were created, along with some new or strengthened friendships and opportunities to share our stories candidly.

Visually, one side of each piece is a representational portrait of an individual in cross-stitch embroidery, and the reverse side incorporates free-form embroidery, mixed-media collage, and installation elements to attempt to reproduce each collaborator’s experiences of chronic illness through the use of visual metaphor, colour, and texture. Accessibility was an important consideration throughout the creation of the works and for any subsequent exhibitions and displays.

This project sought to develop a more equitable and anti-oppressive approach to portraiture and art-making, specifically focusing on breaking down hierarchies often present in art practices – by listening to and centering lived experience, recognizing and addressing the power differentials between “artist” and “model, and reflecting on questions about elitism and exclusion within art communities, the value of creation vs. concept, insider vs. outsider art, craft vs. fine art, and art ownership and consent practices. The ultimate goals of the project were to benefit individuals living with chronic illness(es) by building community, providing meaningful compensation for sharing their experiences, challenging and breaking down artistic hierarchies and barriers, and widening the scope of the conversation about the identities and experiences of those who live with chronic illness – led by those with lived experience.