bh IN BRIEF

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) respect no borders. Worldwide, they take a personal toll on sufferers and place huge burdens on  society, including the workplace. Too often, however, IMIDs, like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis, remain labels in medical charts and personnel records. The true human costs are unknown or ignored. To understand better, AbbVie created: “Perspectives  – Art, Inflammation and Me,” an initiative involving more than 200 artists from over 40 countries, including Canada, to create a gallery of sculptures, photos and other artistic expressions designed to help others understand the impact of debilitating chronic illness. The gallery was launched in Denmark in February 2014 and continues to tour throughout the world. In giving artistic expression to patient stories, the artists aim to help people learn something new about IMIDs. In reproducing three selections, bh hopes to extend this educational opportunity to workplaces in Canada.

TIC TAC TOE CROHN

COUNTRY: United States 

DISEASE: Crohn’s Disease

FORMAT: Sculpture 

ARTIST: Barbara MillerARTIST’S SUMMARY

“…. Much like a game, CD is a disease through which there are personal wins, losses and draws. Words like hope, strength, endurance, courage, ache and low illustrate the range of emotion that patients who live with CD experience while on the road from awareness, diagnosis, and ultimately living with a chronic disease. The patient said that while you don’t always win at the game of life or CD, you still have to play.” 

PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE

“… overall I know that as much as this disease has defined me, I have also defined what it means to live with a chronic illness.”

COEXISTENTIA

COUNTRY: Spain 

DISEASE: Crohn’s Disease

FORMAT: Sculpture 

ARTIST: Guillemo Ros Lluch

ARTIST’S SUMMARY

“…. The body is shown as an iron cuirass, which displays the armor that the subject constructs, piece by piece, to protect themselves from the disease. The rusted armor symbolizes the relationship between the autoimmune condition of the disease, the passage of time, and the burden carried by patients. The intestinal area was opened by the hands to unveil what is inside. The disease is represented by Rosa Valencia marble, an extremely hard, compact material with red veins, symbolizing the human body and sickness…. .”

PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE

“… we have to set out to live for the moment. It is during the most critical moments that we accept and understand each other.”

CAPTIVE?

COUNTRY: Ireland 

DISEASE: Ulcerative Colitis

FORMAT: Photography 

ARTIST: John MinihanARTIST’S SUMMARY

“….  He asked if his portrait could be taken at a historic jail close to his home. He spoke of his sense of captivity, and also the prospect that he might one day be able to live a fulfilling life. Framed in the doorway of a cell, the patient is neither in nor out. As with his condition, no barriers are immediately apparent but confinement is all around. He is looking out to the light, which I believe reflects his continued positivity and hope.”

PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE

“My disease is a prison which incarcerated me at home, turning my bedroom into a cell at a time when I was young and full of hope. Trapped physically and emotionally, I was often afraid to leave the house because of what an unexpected bowel movement would mean. …. I’m photographed at Kilmainham Jail, a famous place in Ireland’s history that I often visit. People who fought for freedom were held there. I even discovered an ancestor who had a short stay. He got out. I want out too.”