Tottenham artist Jennie Pedley refuses to let her subjects stand in the shadows (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Tottenham artist Jennie Pedley refuses to let her subjects stand in the shadows

12:50pm Wednesday 26th January 2011 in Highlights By George Nott

Jennie Pedley’s art has allowed the seriously ill to float in space, let the bed-bound fly and thrust the shy under the spotlight. Or should that be in front of the spotlight?

Using silhouette and back-lighting techniques, the Tottenham artist has created a wealth of work working with hospital patients and the disabled. Just as her art helps patients on the road to recovery, so does she, in her dual role of artist and professional physiotherapist.

For permanent exhibition Silhouette Journeys, Jennie worked with cystic fibrosis sufferers at Royal Brompton Hospital. Transforming therapy sessions, Jennie turned hospital beds into clouds and medical tubing and air tanks into diving bottles, printing shadow shapes onto transparent film and acrylic.

“The patients were attached to so many machines and had all these wires and tubes coming out of them,” explains Jennie. “From that I made this medical equipment more playful so the patients become astronauts or deep sea divers.

“I think having worked in hospitals and being a physiotherapist I am less shocked or upset by the situation. The necessity for sophisticated medical treatment can make this specialist hospital seem like a second home to the patients, I hope the images provide an escape of sorts.”

Although creative since an early age, it was being stuck on her belly that led to Jennie’s first major work. When a slipped disk left her immobile in bed she sought relief from the boredom in early computer games like Myst which allows users to explore imaginary worlds.

Once recovered, she held workshops with students with cerebral palsy at Northumberland Park School in Haringey and a computer professor at Loughborough University to create Vale Town, giving the immobile students the freedom to fly through their own virtual world.

Her latest exhibition, Unfolding Exercise, was inspired by discussing childhood memories with patients at Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals. To illustrate the discussions she created silhouette portraits of patients, using shadow shapes to show their favourite kinds of exercise.

“People are always excited to see themselves as a shadow,” says Jennie. “There are no wrinkles or scars and age is less apparent. However, it’s bad news if you don’t like your profile, which is always the more interesting view when working with shadow.

“It’s a good medium for people who are not very extrovert,” says Jennie. “Some people are very shy about doing it. But being behind the screen they feel they suddenly become anonymous, just a silhouette.”

Stills from virtual-reality work Unicorn Island can be seen at the Marcus Garvey Library, Tottenham, until February 15. Jennie will be running workshops for people to create their own shadow theatre shows at Bruce Castle Museum’s history day on February 12. Unfolding Exercise travels to the Hornsey Library Original Gallery in May.