Mixed media, canary pattern from the Canary Craftivist’s website 

 

This self-portrait is about my journey and the reason for this exhibition. Born in 1946 in London, as a very young child I was exposed to very high air pollution from the burning of coal, called smogs, which triggered off my chronic asthma. In recent years air pollution is now made worse by traffic, burning wood and fossil fuels. Every time the air pollution is high, my asthma gets much worse. Asthmatics, like the canaries that miners took down the mines, are the first to become ill with breathing difficulties when there is an air pollution spike. 5.4 million people are currently being treated for asthma in the UK., 1 million of them children (NHS, UK 2022). They are the air pollution canaries of today. 

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