The unseen experience of chronic health: Seeking empathy through photographic practices is a series of digital self portrait photographs representing my lived experience with chronic health. Each photograph depicts an other worldly version of the symptoms I regularly experience living with health conditions including Endometriosis, Polycystic Ovaries, Chronic fatigue, Gastritis, Anxiety and Vaginosis. The choice to make the work have an internally built world that is colourful, nostalgic and somewhat whimsical was due to feelings of overwhelm and discomfort when seeing photographic works on the same subjects of health. Predominantly chronic health would be captured photographically in a documentary format though this can be incredibly informative it can also be uncomfortable and invasive for the audience. This series aimed to still depict and create conversation around chronic health but in a way it was less overwhelming and empowering to the audience who experience chronic illness. The work is photographed using props, self timer on a digital camera set on a tripod, composited backdrops of my grandparents home and studio lighting every aspect of the photographs was controlled and created by myself as a way to harness the lack of control over the lived experiences. The composited backdrops in combination with the nostalgia is used to communicate the heredity nature of health every illness I experience has been passed on through genetics or family trauma. There is a sense of catharsis from creating a work so personal with the intention to help others.