ARTIST STATEMENT

Five years ago, my dad was diagnosed with stage four terminal colon cancer. I was in my freshman year of high school. Since then, he has received three surgeries - colon, right lung, and liver - eight radiation sessions, and over 60 chemotherapy treatments. However, he is not only a cancer patient. He is a full time artist, primarily a ceramic sculptor. He coil builds his sculptures - mostly owls and occasionally human figures. He uses his artwork to keep him moving forward each day and as an outlet. His passion for art and being creative led him to finding his mantra: Creativity Is My Cure. 

In this series, I wanted to highlight what a typical two week infusion cycle looks like for a cancer patient and artist: The infusion week is check in, sitting in the hospital, being hooked up to a machine pumping poisonous chemicals into one’s body, receiving the pump that continues the infusion process at home for three days, and finally disconnecting from the pump again at the hospital three days later. The next week is recovery and time for the artist to play. I chose to portray the infusion week photos in black and white to illustrate the lack of creativity, the pain, the “trying to make it to the next day” mentality that one has while in treatment. I chose to portray the artist's photos in color to emphasize the feeling of joy, breathing in life while being creative, and doing something the artist loves. I present the photos in pairs, one in black and white and one in color, to show that one journey cannot exist without the other.