ALLISON TUNIS
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    • 2023 - Chronic Illness Art Project
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The Chronic Illness Art Project 
McMullen Gallery, University of Alberta Hospital, October 10 - December 2, 2023.
Opening Reception Friday, October 13, 2023, 7-9PM. More details HERE. 

Allison Tunis in collaboration with
Mairead Charles, Kiran Janes, Wesley Jones, Madeline LeBlanc, Jess Murwin, Aggie Panda, Tamires Paras, Tina Pultz, Clorinda Young


Artist Statement

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 display.

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 centring 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.

Contact Info:

[email protected]
Instagram: @allisontunis
Facebook: @allisontunisart

Read the Art From Here Statement and Written Review by Zoë Schneider about this project, as part of the Art From Here II series, a collaboration between Latitude 53, the Mitchell Art Gallery, Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective, and the Society of Northern Alberta Print Artists (SNAP) from December 2021.

The Chronic Illness Art Project was 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.
Image Description: A cross-stitch portrait of a fat person sitting with their hands crossed over their belly and knees bent, looking off to the left. They are wearing a tan bra and tie dye leggings, have light skin with red patches, and have dark hair in a high bun.
Allison Tunis, Sorry for the Long Delay in My Reply, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 9”x15”. (front)
The reverse side of the previous piece. The figure is covered in crisscrossed neon lines, and has red knotted patches surrounding their joints. There are iridescent sequins covering the figure’s head and silver thread tightly knotting over the jaw. Red beads dot the figure's limbs. The background is full of fragments of handwritten text on duct tape that is collecting debris.
Allison Tunis, Sorry for the Long Delay in My Reply, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 9”x15”. (reverse)
A cross-stitch portrait of a light-skinned man standing with his hands by his sides. He wears a black cap cocked to the side, a grey hoodie, and a grey and black striped t-shirt. The background is a mottled pale blue.
Allison Tunis and Wesley Jones, A Dark Place Full of Sharp Things, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 9”x15”. (front)
The reverse side of the piece shows the figure with an embroidered black grinning monster head with large pointed white teeth and enormous circular white eyes. The body of the figure has a silhouette of a small huddled person with a sideways cap embroidered in the bottom left corner, and the rest of the body is filled with T-pins, encircling and piercing the figure. The background is covered in a sheer black fabric and is tearing around the edges.
Allison Tunis and Wesley Jones, A Dark Place Full of Sharp Things, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 9”x15”. (reverse)
A cross-stitched portrait on light purple fabric of a partially nude femme in white underwear reclining on a seat with her head and arms hanging down and her legs propped up higher. She has light brown skin and dark brown short curly hair. One arm dangles down to the floor as she stares off into the distance.
Allison Tunis and Tamires Para, I Don't Really Feel Comfortable in Any Clothes Right Now :x, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 16” diameter round. (front)
The reverse side of the previous portrait. The figure has bits of wire woven tightly throughout their body, which has many sharp ends poking out and into the body. Dark red and navy thread tightly pulls the fabric and stitches of the body and binds it in some areas; frayed ends trail out of the figure’s fingertips. Dried ribbons of acrylic paint in red and pink accent the body's limbs and give a sense of viscera, as if the body is being ripped open.
Allison Tunis and Tamires Para, I Don't Really Feel Comfortable in Any Clothes Right Now :x, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 16” diameter round. (reverse)
A cross-stitched portrait of a laughing white woman with very short teal hair and glasses. She is topless and holding a rose-coloured cloth to cover one breast, the exposed side of her chest has red mastectomy scars where the other breast has been removed. She is wearing a teal arm sleeve, from which a part of a large, colourful tattoo can be seen poking out the top, and a dark skirt.
Allison Tunis and Tina Pultz, These Broken Columns Are Still Standing, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 9”x15”. (front)
The reverse side of the previous portrait. The figure has three Roman columns inside the body that are in varying states of deterioration. There is medical tape across the body in a bandage or corset-type harness, and small nails poke into the fabric throughout. The piece references a painting called La Columna Rota by Frida Kahlo.
Allison Tunis and Tina Pultz, These Broken Columns Are Still Standing, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 9”x15”. (reverse)
A cross-stitch portrait of an Indigenous woman with long dark hair, sitting with one leg crossed and a hand on her tattooed calf. She is looking at the viewer and wearing a yellow t-shirt that says “Be Kind” with a rainbow. The background is mottled mauve colour.
Allison Tunis and Clorinda Young, You Can't Know How Much I Needed This Today, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 16” diameter round. (front)
The figure is painted with flat black paint in a round hole-like shape and is surrounded by four wooden stakes with caution tape tied to them that is torn and dangling from one stake. There is green moss and dried sweetgrass surrounding the stakes and the black hole. A small embroidered flower in muted rainbow colours is growing near the bottom of one stake on the left side of the piece.
Allison Tunis and Clorinda Young, You Can't Know How Much I Needed This Today, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 16” diameter round. (reverse)
A cross-stitch portrait in a large circular embroidery hoop of a white person with long strawberry blonde hair, sitting bent over with their feet touching and elbows on their feet, with their hands cupping their face. They are looking at the camera with a slight smile, and have visible tattoos on both biceps. They are wearing black knee braces on both knees and an ankle brace on their right ankle.
Allison Tunis and Mairead Charles, I've Been a Bit Scatterbrained/Unwell Myself, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 14” diameter round. (front)
The reverse side of the piece shows the figure with a stream of yellow-green and brown thread leading from the center of their head to their abdomen in a large knotted tangle. Throughout the body of the figure, beige elastic bands have been tied together in knots and stitched to their limbs and joints. The elastic bands will dry out and crumble over time.
Allison Tunis and Mairead Charles, I've Been a Bit Scatterbrained/Unwell Myself, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 14” diameter round. (reverse)
A cross-stitch portrait on mottled yellow fabric of a light-skinned man with curly hair and an undercut, sitting cross-legged with his hands in his lap and looking to the side. He is wearing a black binder, shorts, glasses, and a silver chain around his neck, and has a large tattoo on his left bicep.
Allison Tunis and Kiran Janes, Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind, 2023. Hand embroidery and lighting on cloth. 16” diameter round. (front)
The reverse side of the piece shows the figure covered in knotted and bunched small LED lights, wrapped tightly with black criss-crossing lines. The lights are in a variety of colours, but mostly red, blue, and purple.
Allison Tunis and Kiran Janes, Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind, 2023. Hand embroidery and lighting on cloth. 16” diameter round. (reverse)
A cross-stitched portrait on yellow fabric of a non-binary person sitting on a walker seat. They have on white glasses with a pink mask and are wearing light blue overalls with a pink bow and accents. They have their hands posed under their chin and their legs slightly crossed, with a purple and yellow fanny pack around their waist.
Allison Tunis and Aggie Panda, Sorry This Is In A Puke Bag, It’s All I Had, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 14” diameter round. (front)
The reverse side of the previous piece. The figure’s body is filled with delicately placed cicada wings, some which are laminated and some which are uncovered. Small red ants fill in the spaces between wings. Some wings are starting to crumble. There is a large plastic bubble anchored over the figure’s head and shoulders, which is cracked irreparably but hastily scotch-taped back together.
Allison Tunis and Aggie Panda, Sorry This Is In A Puke Bag, It’s All I Had, 2023. Hand embroidery and collage on cloth. 14” diameter round. (reverse)
Three small circular cross-stitch portraits in embroidery hoops. The first portrait (left) is of a toddler with light brown hair and very orange lips. The middle portrait shows a young person with medium length brown hair and glasses, holding a piece of paper to the camera with a somber face. The final portrait (right) features a non-binary person with short spiky brown hair, wearing glasses and a green collared shirt.
Allison Tunis and Jess Murwin, The Nature of Being Human is a Bit Wishy-Washy at Times, 2023. Hand embroidered mobile installation. 12” diameter and 36” height. (front detail)
The reverse of the three small portraits. The image on the left shows a hand with its figures bent to place or set something. It is made out of a dark brown lace with light machine-stitched details. The middle image has a hand created out of white lace and red-brown stitching poised in a flicking motion. The final image shows a flat open hand facing down, made of tan lace with dark stitching.
Allison Tunis and Jess Murwin, The Nature of Being Human is a Bit Wishy-Washy at Times, 2023. Hand embroidered mobile installation. 12” diameter and 36” height. (reverse detail)
Allison Tunis and Jess Murwin, The Nature of Being Human is a Bit Wishy-Washy at Times, 2023. Hand embroidered mobile installation. 12” diameter and 36” height.
A large canvas is painted with colourful, scribbled flowers and detailed with intricate graphite line work. There is a cross-stitch portrait in the top right of the canvas, featuring a young biracial woman with a halo of curly brown hair in what looks like a selfie pose.
Allison Tunis and Madeline LeBlanc, Schizophrenic Daydream - Blossoms in Reality and Psychosis, 2023. Acrylics, hand embroidery and collage on canvas. 46”x 72”. (front)
The reverse side of the previous portrait. Paint comes through the canvas in a mirror image but muted and in circular patterns, along with the reverse side of the embroidered portrait. Five additional distorted images of Madeline’s portrait printed on fabric are attached with long, jagged strings of thread that are the reverse of the dainty embroidery on the front.
Allison Tunis and Madeline LeBlanc, Schizophrenic Daydream - Blossoms in Reality and Psychosis, 2023. Acrylics, hand embroidery and collage on canvas. 46”x 72”. (reverse)
This business operates on Treaty 6 territory, traditional home to many diverse Indigenous peoples including nêhiyaw/Cree, Dené, Anishinaabe/ Saulteaux, Nakota Isga/Nakota Sioux, Niitsitapi/Blackfoot, and Métis’ peoples. The artist acknowledges their own identity and impact as a settler-colonist, and strives to invest in and support Indigenous rights, arts, and culture individually and collectively.
  • Home
  • About
  • Image Gallery
  • Series
    • 2023 - Chronic Illness Art Project
    • 2022 - At Rest series
    • 2019 - An Anthology of Sticks & Stones
    • 2019 - The Paths We Forge
  • Contact
  • Colouring Book
  • SHOP