'Iconic Fatigue' art installation

September 2026

Bespoke textile design by Charlotte Raffo

Project: 'Iconic Fatigue' by Polite Rebellion

Supported by Arts Council England and the University of Leeds

Project Overview

Iconic Fatigue is a series of beds, each upholstered in a textile which tells the story of a person with an energy limiting illness. 

You are invited to lie in the bed, put on headphones, and listen to each individual talk about their experience of living with chronic fatigue.

Charlotte Raffo was asked to create a textile design to reflect the experience of photographer Lizzie Coombes.

Creating the Design

Through a number of meetings with Lizzie, and listening to an extensive recording of her talking through her experience of her illness, Charlotte created key themes for the design.

As with all her designs, Charlotte began by sketching her ideas at actual scale onto paper.

'The textile explores the contrasts between the very flat life Lizzie lived during the worst phases of her illness, and the colourful three dimensional world she is now able to inhabit most of the time. 

As Lizzie is a photographer I incorporated her work into the design, creating a diary of her life through the ups and downs of her illness.

The pictures begin with the claustrophobic photos Lizzie took whilst her health was at its worst, giving way to her later instagram pictures which show her life becoming more free and colourful as her health improves.

In the design the framing of the photos also reflects the state of Lizzie’s health. 

Grubby tile grout surrounds the images of her more difficult days - making these pictures appear flat and one dimensional, whilst three dimensional window frames surround the pictures of her happier days when she can begin to see and experience the outside world.' - Charlotte Raffo

Six beds will soon be touring the UK to spread awareness of this often misunderstood illness