Installation gives voice to 'invisible' suffering

An immersive art installation that invites people to "disappear" inside a mirrored box to understand life with chronic fatigue syndrome, is coming to the West Country.

Created by Bristol artist Alison Larkman, Mirrorbox plays messages from ME and long Covid patients explaining why a particular location is special to them, and why their condition means they cannot be there themselves.

Ms Larkman, who has ME, said the concept came from "the idea of taking up space, of being seen and heard but also being invisible at the same time".

The initiative, titled 'I would be here if I could', has seen the Mirrorbox travel all over the country and it will be in Bristol and Glastonbury in the coming weeks.

ME causes extreme tiredness and can be so severe that patients are left bed-bound and unable to complete even simple tasks.

Other symptoms include problems with memory and concentration, muscle and t pain, dizziness and sensitivity to light and sound.

When her illness is at its worst, Ms Larkman can only stay awake for three-hour windows.

"Your imagination is huge and you can lay in bed and travel to all sorts of places and think about things whereas you can't do them," she said.

"That's one of the questions I would think - 'where would I be if I could":[]}