I have recently completed my Photography MA at Sunderland University where I achieved a distinction for my project ‘Unpredictable Patterns’ which was exhibited at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art from December 08 to January 09. The open evening was a huge success and I would like to thank everyone that contributed to the project and all those who came along to see the exhibition including members of ME North East, Keiren Hollingsworth from Newcastle’s MRI Unit and Professor Julia Newton from the RVI.

Subject matter for my final show followed three themes. One part consisted of still life and constructed imagery; the everyday objects, places and spaces that metamorphose into new worlds and vistas in the face of chronic illness. Alongside this I produced a series of six portraits of young women, including my own daughter, who suffer from ME, posed within the confines of their own bedrooms.

Finally medical research helped ground the project and widened my perception of the illness in general. I visited hospitals, talked with medical researchers, and photographed tilt tables at the RVI and an MRI scanner at Newcastle General, gathering printouts from their research along the way. I also collected vintage microscope slides to use as part of a light-box display that incorporated miniature copies of the portraits I produced earlier.
On display for my final show was a culmination of all the above: a pattern of photographs (of varying sizes to illustrate the diversity and unpredictability of a seemingly invisible illness), a light-box installation and a large format book.
Due to the success of this project I have been encouraged to develop the work further, from many quarters including the artist Rosy Martin who commented on the work: “Wow - it looks like you have done brilliantly - well done. I do think it is an issue that is well worth working on - because - as with most illnesses that require care - it is 'hidden'. It is such a tough subject, so very hard to make images of the 'un-representable' - and also a condition that has been for too long either unrecognised or mis-diagnosed or not given adequate attention.”

We recently welcomed Juliet as a Trustee of ME North East and we look forward to seeing her future work as it develops. What a marvellous method of relaying the reality of Living with ME.

If anyone is interested in contributing to the next stage of the project please contact me via email at: [email protected]

To view more of Juliet’s work visit:
www.axisweb.org/mastars/julietcheneryrobson
and her book ‘Unpredictable Patterns’ is available to buy at:
www.blurb.com/bookstore/detai/395530