Artist's Statement

The works exhibited below are part of the series "In Sickness and in Health," an exploration of the effects of illness on victims, loved ones and societies in general. Sickness is a human universal, an unavoidable given of being alive. Mainstream culture tends to often ignore and downplay the effects of it in modern-day America. Among other things, this may be a side effect of the cult of youth and vitality forwarded by our media and advertising. Health is taken as a given, and anything less is looked at as somehow abberant when for much of human history, the exact opposite has tended to be true. It is necessary to gain a greater understanding of the mental, emotional and physical responses of the human body to prolonged and chronic illness.

Only through reaffirming this connection can we cultivate a greater compassion for those who suffer. In the end, we are all the patient at some point in our lives. We must all stare down and overcome the limitations of our bodies when they inevitably break down. This is not necessarily a sad thing. It reminds us of the fragility and exceedingly great value of our lives, and our responsibility to our fellow men and women to lighten their suffering if we can.