Hidden Sorrow
2 of 3
DSU Senior Show
The story behind this picture:
My father passed away from cancer when I was seven and I wanted to dedicate a set of work to show that I have never forgotten about him. I used an old car from out on the farmstead where he grew up as the subject. Each season represents a stage of cancer. In the summer photograph the vegetation represents cancer. Even though the cancer had spread throughout his entire body there was a glimpse of hope. My dad was so sick, but there was that small chance that the doctors could help him or that God would heal him. We hoped and prayed that he would overcome the battle of cancer. But my dad was getting sicker as the cancer was taking over his body, and everyone seemed to be putting on a mask of “everything is going to be just fine.” I was seven, but I could sense that there was hidden sorrow deep within everyone that surrounded me. I remember asking him, “When you get better, can we…?” Well, better never came. Winter came instead; winter, in my case, represents death. My dad passed away, but in a sense it was a new beginning. It was a new beginning of learning to grow up without a dad. New beginnings come to people in different ways. New beginnings could be a clean slate from cancer, it could be the learning to live life without an important person right beside you, but whichever way it comes; I want my viewers to be able to look at this set of pieces and either have each photograph relate to their own lives or to be able to tell the story of how cancer has affected my life.