Body as a Negative

In this work, I return to traumatic memories and experiences that I endured as an inter-organ tumor patient. My situation was one of 300 cases worldwide where science had few answers to the cause and how to proceed. The medical procedures performed upon my body during the initial 9-hour surgery, live as a photographic negative in my life. This deep somatic memory is called to visibility in this work, externalised through the photographic surface. Through returning to the memories and replaying them under controlled studio conditions, I aim to transform them on a cellular level, so my body can regain balance. In this act of return, I replace the invasive surgical instrument with my camera as a receptive device to register, merge and enable a ritual of healing. It is this process of emphatic engagement that brings dimensionality to the body and self again, and grows a capacity to join with the suffering of others. From this work I than meet my Father, supporting him through his own cycle of trauma, as he has cancer.