Untitled Reflections | Zoë Schneider
A response to Allison Tunis’ Untitled Chronic Illness Project
I notice an abundance of artists that attempt to enact the themes of ‘community’ and ‘care’ in their practices. It has felt explicitly present over the last decade, possibly a reflection of the ubiquity of Instagram and Tik Tok content that aestheticizes topics like trauma, neurological disorders, and ideas like spoon theory (coined by Christine Miserandino in her 2003 essay "The Spoon Theory" and a must read when thinking about chronic illness). The work I see often feels like an Insta’d socially engaged art practice. Aesthetics and a bite size bit of verbiage with little more. How do we extend sentiment into action that materially benefits those that social media awareness speaks to? How do we mend community so that it may truly enact care for its’ chronically ill, racialized, classed, and gendered members? How do we darn the holes in our society that let people slip through, that fail them, or are designed to exploit them? These questions are considered in Allison Tunis’ Untitled Chronic Illness Project. Tunis enacts community care and connection in a way that truly embodies commitment, reciprocity, and mindfulness.
Tunis staged an open call for participants who experience chronic illness to spend time with her talking, communing, and sharing their experiences with their illnesses and disability. After the initial conversation Tunis begins to create a double-sided portrait using cross-stitch on one side and a type of free hand embroidery on the other - the cross-stitch side being a representative depiction of the collaborator and the free hand side interpreting the difficult experiences of the collaborators. The participants were paid for their time, can choose the images they want Tunis to use as a source for portraiture, and are engaged and consulted through every step of the project, from consultation to creation to exhibition and beyond.
Portraiture engages three participants: the artist, the subject, and the viewer. Power dynamics are present in this configuration that have historically been experienced as exploitative, positioning the artist as an authoritative meaning maker, the viewer as consumer, and the subject as a powerless figure lacking in agency. Tunis challenges this dynamic, centering the subjects as paid collaborators. Engaging them in interviews, having them select their own photos to be used as reference images. Material versus symbolic gestures is what stands out to me about this project. Tunis speaks about the calming effect of cross-stitch, and conversely the destabilizing effects of creating the free-form side of the portrait. In doing so she exemplifies the ways that an individual can challenge their own position to center the needs of others: “The creation of each expressive mixed media 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 ask me to sacrifice of at least balance power and comfort to better center the experiences and needs of my collaborators” (Tunis, Artist Statement, 2021). This demonstration of support at the artists expense speaks loudly to me about their desire to position care at the center of their practice.
Duality is fundamental to this project, specifically the dualities of the lived experience of chronically ill people. Both sides of the portrait make the artwork, how the collaborator is perceived versus what the collaborator experiences. Often the experiences of chronically ill and disabled people are hidden, invisible, or intentionally disregarded by others. There are discrepancies with what society expects of people versus what is actually feasible. Tunis notes that many of the collaborators stressed how overwhelming the struggle is. Inside (the art world) and outside (those that are denied access to the art world), high art versus low craft, perceived versus experienced; the objects created in this project demand an appreciation for the conflict that these dualities place on chronically ill and disabled people.
Harm reduction and opportunities to heal are goals that Tunis built into this project. I don’t experience disability or chronic illness (at this point in my life), but much of this project and my conversation with Tunis has given me pause. I consider my own experience as an artist and the pressure to constantly innovate and create. To stay relevant. I know I’m not alone when I say I am tired, exhausted. The struggle is real, and Tunis is attempting to soften it, to lift it from our shoulders. What a gift.
About the Author
Website: zoeschneider.net | Instagram: @000wow
Zoë Schneider (she/her) is based in Regina, Treaty 4 Territory, Saskatchewan, Canada. Schneider works in sculpture, video, and installation to critically examine the complexity of fat identity. Schneider holds an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan (2018), and a BFA from the Alberta University of the Arts (2009). In Canada Schneider has exhibited in Regina, Saskatoon, Estevan, Guelph, Mississauga, Lethbridge, and internationally in Denmark, Germany, and the United States.