Artist Statement

A camera explicitly, and sometimes unpredictably, records the emotions and surroundings that make up a brief moment in time. Once captured, the image is used to interpret this ephemeral moment. Whether we accept the reality it presents or whether we deny it, the revealing nature of photography allows us to feel the moment again and again.

When my best friend, Cynthia, and I learned she had breast cancer, we were in denial about the reality of the diagnosis. As we began to accept the diagnosis, we used photography as a medium to document our reality while, at the same time, escape it. In accepting breast cancer, we controlled how we reacted to it by becoming subjects of an educational documentary that would move, touch, and inspire others. We faced each emotional challenge with a steadfast acceptance, simply out of our promise to document that experience for others.

Each person's experience with breast cancer is personal. The images created during the year of Cynthia's cancer and treatment were captured through my perspective-that of the caregiver. My close relationship with Cynthia and my photographic style of capturing people simply being themselves will serve as a visual support for those patients and caregivers recently touched by cancer. It is my intention that the images inspire dialogue when moments of adversity or triumph surface, and that they serve as a platform from which one can begin to experience cancer.