Bristol exhibition of 40,138 flowers for unpaid carers opens

Carina, the exhibition's organiser, is herself an unpaid carer for her mother and father

A new exhibition has opened to highlight the work carried out by unpaid carers.

Invisible Army's 40,138 exhibit at the Bristol Galleries Shopping Centre uses the same number of flowers to represent each unpaid carer in the city.

Carina Andrews, a carer and organiser of the display said it was a "great visualisation" of the sheer number of carers out there.

She said: "Carers are often hidden behind closed doors, unseen, unheard."

"We have a carer's allowance, but it works out as £1.90 per hour for a 35-hour week, which is below minimum wage.

"We wanted to make sure that these carers were seen and heard, and known to our community because they're keeping people alive."

Ms Andrews said it has taken her a year to collect all the flowers, working with community groups and schools across the city to make them.

The mock living room is designed to look like it is being used by someone receiving care

She has been a carer for her mother and father since the age of five, looking after her father with Parkinson's disease and her mother's mental and physical health needs.

The exhibition is a mock-up of her parent's living room, which has been adapted with a downstairs bed.

"There's a commode, a TV, and a bed and some chairs - this is the space that we live in," Ms Andrews said.

The room features details such as tablet boxes and a commode

"We've got many carer's stories on the wall, mothers who are caring for their children with liver failure, to people caring for others with dementia.

"It is overwhelming that there is this army of people out there who can understand what they're all going through.

"Lots of people said it was impossible to make 40,000 flowers but here we are."

Her exhibition will run on the top floor of the Galleries until 12 December.

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