Sculpture Reflects Experience of People with ME and Long Covid

The Royal Opera House is to host a social art installation that explores the experiences of people with ME and Long Covid.

Visitors will be invited to step inside The Mirrorbox and take part in an ongoing national conversation between those who are absent from public spaces due to illness and those who are present.

The Mirrorbox is a touring interactive sculpture that carries messages from people living with ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) and Long Covid to places across the UK they love but can no longer visit because of their illness.

From September 12-13 it will be located under the glass canopy of the Royal Opera House's Paul Hamlyn Hall in London, where visitors will hear a message from Charlotte W, who has chosen the theatre as the place she loves but can no longer reach because of illness. 

After listening, they will be invited to write Charlotte a postcard in response. These postcards will be shared with Charlotte by the team at I Would Be Here If I Could, the social art project behind The Mirrorbox. 

The Royal Opera House is only the first stop for The Mirrorbox this year. Following its opening weekend in the Paul Hamlyn Hall, the installation will continue its journey across the UK to iconic and well-loved locations including Whitby Whalebone Arch and Tate Modern.

If people can't make it to The Mirrorbox in person, they are welcome to participate online by listening to messages on a virtual map and sending digital postcards here: https://www.iwouldbehereificould.com/messages/

Co-created by people who live with these conditions, the artwork explores how people's absence from public spaces can make them invisible in wider society, and how greater understanding can help reduce the isolation so many feel.

The Mirrorbox will be at The Royal Opera House on September 12 and 13 from 12pm to 6pm. There will be an early opening (11am) on September 13 for visitors with access needs.

For more information on the exhibition, visit https://www.rbo.org.uk/production/i-would-be-here-if-i-could-the-mirrorbox