Angela Pierce and Professor John Telford – Department of Visual Arts
My essay is a photographic exploration into the personal strength of people who are winning the fight against Cancer. Different from most images of cancer which evoke feelings of helplessness and pity, I wanted to show cancer as a disease that can be beaten, to show survivors who are stronger for their experience. To show people who have come away with stronger character, no matter what their age or experience. I tried to show a broad cross section of ages and philosophies since cancer affects all varieties of people. These portraits were taken on locations that showed something about the subject, and with symbols of the subject’s survival.
As a photographer I wanted to show the exuberance for life that each of the subjects possessed, that happiness and strength that they all showed.
I felt that the essence of the images was to convey happiness of the survivor. I was concerned that the subjects would not be open about their experiences. However, I found the opposite to be true, the expressions came easily, and everyone had a different aspect of their survival that they wanted to convey. Mike Bullock wanted to show the creed of “A smile a day”. He felt that his best medicine during his own treatment was making the other boys in the hospital ward smile. Dick Nourse felt that the public support from the community helped greatly while he was going through chemotherapy. Sarah McMullin wanted to show the creating of herself from her experience along with the things her parents taught her about nature. Stephanie Gisler, now a marathon runner shows her love for her son, whom she was pregnant with when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Everyone had a touching and memorable message that they learned and wanted to share with me.
I ended up completing twelve portraits for the series instead of the proposed 8 and would love to continue the project. I feel like I have learned a lot about human nature and the strength of the spirit to endure.
The following are the images from Cancer: A Portrait of Survival.