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Exhibition uncovers the invisible army of carers

Jonathan Holmes
BBC News, West of England
Invisible Army A woman applying shaving cream to her husband's face in a white bathroom. Invisible Army
Hannah cares for her husband Stu, who has Huntington's disease, a degenerative neurological condition

A photo exhibition is bringing to light the intimate and everyday experiences of carers.

Nearly 50 portraits of carers across Bristol and Somerset are being displayed at Weston General Hospital, Weston-super-Mare.

Invisible Army, a group that raises awareness of caring, put the exhibition together. "We're sharing what is often private and isolated into the world; this army of carers are looking after people and saving their lives," said co-founder Carina Andrews.

One of the subjects, Hannah, from Weston-super-Mare, told the BBC it was "an amazing opportunity to highlight the stresses of what carers go through".

Hannah and her two children share caring responsibilities for husband and father Stu, who has Huntington's disease.

"From a young age, the kids knew their dad was poorly, if he has a wobble down the hallway, they support him as he's walking," Hannah said.

"This exhibition will tell people what we do, and how hard it is."

She added: "People take [caring] for granted and it is really hard.

"What people see when I'm at work, they don't see what I'm doing at home or the 101 different things I am worrying about."

The disease is a genetic condition – there is a chance the couple's children may be carriers of the genes that cause it.

Invisible Army A young woman with brown hair in a ponytail sits behind a young girl with wavy brown hair. The woman is supporting the girl with a hand at her side. The girl is in denim dungarees. Invisible Army
Invisible Army An elderly couple sit at a table that has a tablecloth with a pattern of red, blue and yellow triangles. The woman, who has long blonde hair and pink-tinted glasses, has her elbows on the table as she leans forward, smiling at the man. The man is facing ahead and is wearing a blue chequered shirt. They appear to be in a conservatory. Invisible Army
Rachel cares for her two-year-old daughter Effie, who has a chromosomal disorder and a spinal cord injury
Sandy and Peter met online when they were both widowed. Now in their 80s, Peter is blind and has dementia, and Sandy cares for him alongside gardening at Arnos Vale Cemetery

Rachel, another subject in the exhibition, cares for her two-year-old daughter Effie, who has a rare chromosomal disorder.

The disorder caused global developmental delay, a condition where a child takes longer than others to reach certain development milestones.

It also caused an aggressive cancerous tumour on Effie's spinal cord when she was five months old.

Rachel, from Weston-super-Mare, said she was "thrown into a world of disability and caring" as soon as Effie was born.

She was approached by Invisible Army to be in the exhibition after documenting her experiences as a carer on Instagram.

"Caring never stops, it's 24 hours a day, and that's largely forgotten," she said.

"Support networks fall away when there's nothing acute going on, and it is tough, and the support out there doesn't touch the sides.

"We never really got the opportunity to get used to being parents because we had her and then went into this world of caring," she said.

Tina Gue, left, wearing a pink knitted top, and Carina Andrews, right, wearing a green top with a denim jacket
Tina Gue and Carina Andrews, who run Invisible Army, said documenting care work was a "moving" experience

Invisible Army co-founder Ms Andrews, herself a carer from a young age, said she knew how isolating care work could be.

"Carers are often not valued, seen or heard, and their rights are not met," she said.

"This army of people should be respected and seen."

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