Rare Beauty

Beauty in the everyday.

In sponsorship with

‘Rare Beauty’ is a photographic series that reimagines the everyday settings that people with rare diseases find themselves in: having surgery, meeting the consultant or receiving treatment. The images juxtapose the clinical aesthetic with classical depictions of beauty, curated to encourage intrigue and interest for the viewer.

Aim

Despite rare diseases affecting 1 in 17 people within the UK, the day-to-day experience of individuals is not often discussed. The regular surroundings of this community are often clinically based, with frequent health interventions, meetings and check-ups. To encourage a revisualisation of these settings, and to build affinity with the daily lives of those with rare disease, this photographic series injects typically uninviting locations with beauty.

Process

This series was photographed with the assistance of Birmingham Children's Hospital and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. It was in their facilities and with their staff that these images were taken, along with extensive interviews with rare disease specialists and families of children with rare disease. The cumulative exhibition and talks we have given offer an authentic account of the difficulties faced by rare disease specialists, as well as celebrating the lives of the families who face these clinical settings so frequently.

Impact

‘Rare Beauty’ formed part of a suite of exhibitions over a three year period known as ‘Rare Aware’, designed to raise awareness of rare disease and it's impact upon affected families. This succession of exhibitions was on show for nearly 1 in every 3 days, being seen physically by 17,000 attendants at our 82 exhibitions, and attained a readership of over 48 million people through some of the UK’s biggest press platforms and social media outlets.

During this period, over 15,000 organisations viewed our work. Collating the feedback, we know that ‘Rare Beauty’ helped change perspectives on rare disease, increasing empathy and understanding whilst bringing the realities of this community to the forefront of our audiences attention.