We made this exhibition to get people talking about the difficulties there are living with breathlessness and also to let people know that there were ways to deal with it to lead a good life. The lady hidden in the roses has become one of the most talked about images from our exhibition!
Here is the artist Anna Bean describing how the image was developed.
“The idea for this image came from someone at the original discussion workshop and it connected to fairy tales – the sleeping beauty idea. It developed as it went along. It was a woman sat on the bench, but she was completely submerged by the roses and then we had the idea that maybe the eyes should poke through there – that really added to it. Using the long format worked well because you’ve got this huge vine growing around her. Also we had a younger woman and then we made her a bit older. “
What have people visiting the exhibition said about this image?
“I really liked the art piece of the lady who was hidden behind the roses. I feel like the lady must feel very trapped – it’s as if the roses are closing in on her. People who have breathing difficulties often feel like they are suffocating and that they can’t seem to get any air-this is depicted by the roses obscuring her view.”
“It’s a wake-up call as to how patients feel when they are breathless.”
“There’s a sense of impending doom…”
“It gives a different perspective and conveys a sense of the overwhelmingness and the slow creeping of breathlessness.”
“I think this piece of art is trying to show is isolation and loneliness. The person in the image is hidden by a dense amount of foliage making her hard to see.”
“I think this art piece is trying to express that the person is no longer able to take part and get involved and so they are slowly forgotten and cut off.”
We would very much like to know what you think about this image. Do you agree with the things other people have said or do you have a different interpretation? Please tell us what the lady hidden in the roses makes you think and feel by leaving us a comment below.
Really interesting post!
Thank you Rachel!
Being breathless is frightening ,sometimes embarassing,ie breathless when climbing stairs or rushing to keep up with othersThe lady in the post demonstrates that to me.
Having asthma is not always visible but is very much there, just like the lady.
Thank you for your reply Sheila-I agree entirely, breathlessness is often invisible to others and they find it difficult to understand the difficulties caused by it.