The Cancer Freak Project
La Petite Mort Gallery presents
The Cancer Freak Project
Mixed Media Art by Judy DeBoer
January 31 – February 6, 2014
Vernissage Friday January 31 / 7 – 10pm
On Opening night of The Cancer Freak Project I will be Collecting funds for The Ottawa hospital Cancer centre Psychosocial Oncology Program . The program provides social, psychological , emotional, and physical support to patients and their families, from prevention to bereavement. This program offers rehabilitation to patients , education sessions and workshops , physiotherapy , counselling and so much more. It has been an important part of my fight but had recently suffered from funding cuts which means a cut in services.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Art and design have been my life. As a costume and set designer in the world of theatre, and as a fine artist, my world centers around aesthetics, the visual and the physical.
Cancer Freak Project expresses my current inescapable and all-consuming physical and emotional experience fighting breast cancer, in particular the physical realities of the side effects of my treatment. Scars, swelling and the loss of hair, eyebrows and eyelashes have transformed my body and its appearance to me and the perception of others.
As part of my treatment, I had been encouraged to exercise my design skills artistically and to document my body with photographs since cancer has prevented me from expressing myself as I do usually through my costume and set design work. My final project includes three full-size costumes, displayed on dress forms, and constructed mostly from medical supplies repurposed from my own treatment . I have also created a series of collages on panel board and painted work on paper as well as on canvas.
The three main works reflect my three ever-changing moods based on my post-surgery, mid-treatment self-concept and understanding of how others visually perceive me. Morphed Beast is part mythological creature and part scarred female torso – a combination Pan-mermaid and female Frankenstein. The Warrior captures a more stereotypical fight against the disease and is somewhat Roman inspired. Finally, Feminine Disguise represents the times I made an effort to make myself look presentable when leaving my home and private world and going out into public, trying to not look like I had cancer. My hope was that I could possibly help others find pride in their appearance when going to the hospital for treatment and appointments. Occasionally I even fooled myself, forgot what was going on under the clothes and momentarily felt beautiful and sexy again.
For the first time I have managed to merge my two passions in one art form.