Bandages

The photographic series “Bandages” portrays the repetition, uncertainty and pain experienced from the medical treatment for a chronic and malignant illness. The images focus on the bandages, Band-Aids, tape and cotton gauze left from blood draws and infusions. They are left from my own chemotherapy treatments and diagnostic lab work. My life as a cancer patient requires a surrender of control. Treatment means putting myself in the hands of science, medicine, alternative approaches or a belief system. Sickness and possibly death are beyond control. Physically restrained during treatment by plastic lines and tubing connecting to medicines and monitors, it is learning to live with uncertainty. After each session, I placed the day’s bandage in a plastic Zip-loc bag. These objects were important physical reminders of fear, hope and the pain endured. They sat in a drawer for a long time. Eventually, I created photographic images from the stained reminders. I arranged them as in a still life and utilized a black background with the intent of creating a kind of beauty from something horrific. The titles of the imagery with dates and times convey the feelings of a suspension of time and life. Today many cancers are becoming a chronic condition rather than a terminal illness. In the future, cancer patients may not have to endure these hardships and current and contemporary treatments may be looked at as barbaric. In the meantime, “Bandages” serves as a testament to suffering and ultimately survival.