For many, hidden illness and disability are something they carry silently, with little visible to those around them at a surface level.
Chronic forms a visual manifestation for the unseen, giving shape to the unspoken tribulations a life with chronic illness can ensue. The works form a collective narrative surrounding the symptoms so many navigate daily as well as an introspective web of experiences and memories.
Julia Howe is a multidisciplinary artist based in Ballarat and Melbourne, Victoria. Working across photography, oil painting, printmaking and sculpture, her practice is centred around symbolism, visual narrative and process-based making. Alongside her arts practice, she works commercially as a photographer and graphic designer.
Howe's work explores chronic illness, mental health and the environment, often using everyday objects and materials to reflect lived experience. Her recent book, Walking the Margins, uses teetering assemblages made from everyday objects to represent the symptoms, instability and feelings that can accompany life with chronic illness.
