Allison Tunis

Untitled Chronic Illness Project, 2021-22 

Zoë Schneider’s reflections on this work can be found here

Live studio visit with Allison was held on Tuesday, December 14, watch recording below.

Chronic illness is a concept that is truly difficult to capture due to its many nuances and variations – many illnesses or conditions are often not visible or fully visible to the eye, flare up at different frequencies and intensities, present differently than portrayed in popular culture, and vary greatly from individual-to-individual- even within one diagnosis. My own experiences of chronic illness led me to believe for many years that I was seeking attention or that I was at fault for my own suffering. This was mainly because my experiences did not match up with what is portrayed in media and our society as typical for these diagnoses, but also due to internalized ableism (the discrimination and bias against people living with disabilities) that I have had to continually work to unpack. The fact that we are shown one dominant narrative or no narrative at all about conditions that affect millions of people leads to a decrease in understanding and recognition of these illnesses when they present, as well as increased pervasiveness of incorrect assumptions and biases about disabled people – both from those who are ill and those who are not. With our new reality since the COVID-19 pandemic, people with chronic illnesses are further at risk and facing both new and more complex barriers. Ableism has become even more highly visible in our culture with many openly judging or devaluing those who are chronically ill and/or disabled and the precautions they may take to stay safe.

This project seeks 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 overall project aims 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.

Each collaborator is offered space to share and represent their feelings, experiences, and history and they are involved throughout the process of development, creation, and exhibition with opportunities to provide direction and feedback throughout. Initial one-to-one conversations focus on each person’s experience of their illness(es), some of the challenges and stories that come along with being chronically ill, and the potential metaphors and materials to be used to most accurately represent the unique experiences each individual has with symptoms, side effects, impacts, and effects of their illness(es). Each participant is also compensated for their work and time, as sharing stories can be extremely draining and emotional labour is often expected for free – especially when asking marginalized individuals to share their experiences with the larger public for the sake of “awareness”. These pieces are an opportunity for individuals to visualize and share their experiences with others on their own terms, to connect with others in community who may have similar experiences, and to claim chronic illness and ability as part of their identity if they so wish.

These pieces seek to capture the “invisible” experiences of individuals who live with chronic illnesses through a series of double-sided hand-embroidered portraits that are displayed with both sides of the pieces visible to viewers. The “fronts” of each piece are a representational portrait of each individual in cross-stitch embroidery, depicting them as they feel is appropriate for the project – perhaps at their most authentic and natural, as they see themselves or as others see them, or as they appear when they feel most ill – it is up to each individual to determine what they feel might be the best representation of themselves, with my support. The reverse of each piece uses free-form embroidery and mixed-media collage to reproduce the experiences of the collaborators through the use of visual metaphor, colour, texture, and the display of the pieces.

Traditionally, the backs of embroidery pieces, especially cross-stitch, have been an important consideration in the craft and needleworkers took pride in getting the reverse to look almost as neat and tidy as the displayed side. A tidy back was seen as the sign of a gifted needle artist. Due to the complexity of my portraits, the backs often have a sense of randomness, chaos, and frenzy - challenging the concept of whether a tidy back does indeed measure the talent or skill of the creator. I was inspired to create a series that intentionally makes use of both sides of the stitching – subverting the traditional practice of considering the back of embroidery pieces with regards only to neatness and instead, not only intentionally working to add in, transform, or destroy parts of the back of each portrait to mimic or become a metaphor for the experience of each individual’s chronic and unseen illnesses, but also to create intentional meaning out of the “madness” of the reverse sides. The scope of the mixed media and collage elements expanded significantly during the process of this series, as each individual that I worked with had such descriptive metaphors and I wanted to be open to any possibility to communicate as authentically as possible through the medium – which led to expanding the materials and techniques that I was willing to use to include things such as multimedia and digital media elements, found objects, installation elements, and pieces of art made by the collaborators. Being open and flexible to the direction that each individual leads is integral to the concept of this series.

The techniques of embroidery and cross-stitch were selected for this project from my own experiences and history. I learned to cross-stitch as a teen and have found over the years that the process acts as a self-soothing mechanism for my overwhelming anxiety and obsessive impulses and thoughts. Repetitive hand movements and intense focus on detail allow me to clear my head and be free of my mind for a time. However, I have also sought to push beyond creating in ways that are purely therapeutic and cathartic to myself. The techniques and methods of this project seek to create a tension between the soothing and the agitating - the free-form embroidery and collage processes used cause me great anxiety and mental effort to create, as opposed to the calm relief of the cross-stitch process. The creation of each reverse side is an unpredictable and fluid process, adapting to each individual and challenging me to work in ways that not only go outside my comfort zone, but also intentionally asking me to sacrifice and balance my own power and comfort to better center the experiences and needs of my collaborators. Furthermore, I am also interested in how the medium of embroidery can mirror concepts about the handing down of something from generation to generation – which relates to the history of needlework, as well as individual health and genetics and cultural biases and social understandings, which impact the experiences of chronic illnesses.

This project is greatly influenced by current discourses around social justice and anti-oppressive practices. The need to reflect on our own privileges, power, and placement in hierarchies is essential to creating more equitable art practices and spaces, but also a more equitable society as a whole. Centering issues of intersectionality and accessibility in art and better highlighting and collaborating with creators with lived experience allows us to create art that speaks more authentically and to a wider, more diverse audience, whilst also ultimately reducing the harm caused to oppressed and marginalized creators and communities. However, I seek not only to reduce harm but to create opportunities to heal. Informed by my background as an art therapist and in social services, I value the process of creating art as much as, if not more than, the final output and I believe when harnessed with compassion, intention, and integrity that fine art can also be a venue for community healing. Importantly, as a person who experiences both privileges and oppression – I think it’s important for me to reflect internally and integrate these concepts and practices into my own work and also the greater art community whenever possible.

This series is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2022 and exhibited in 2023. It is supported by the Edmonton Arts Council, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Canada Council for the Arts and the McMullen Gallery/Friends of University Hospitals.

About the Artist

Instagram: @allisontunis | Website: allisontunis.com