One out of Nine
"Every scar has a story,
every story has a scar"
SONDRIA BROWNE
The Rising
On March 13th, 2012, my life changed with two simple words. “It’s Cancer”. The clarity of cancer had entered my world and perspective on my life given in the form of a devastating diagnosis. Desperate for answers and understanding, I started to write my blog The Rising. I found that through writing I could work through my emotions and share my experiences much more than in talking directly about it. Sometimes, even words were not enough to articulate or express what it is to have a part of you taken away. I looked for an alternative expression for my experience and found it through photography. I asked Malin Enström to take pictures of me as I am now, spirit intact, to show the world that cancer could not take my essence. The pictures reflected exactly that and helped me gain acceptance. With the reality of the disease in each frame, ever present was hope, resilience and courage. I wanted to share this gift with other women. Malin and I started the One Out of Nine project to do just that. I feel there is something to be celebrated from each woman’s journey and story. In photography words need not be spoken for understanding. I hope each person takes away whatever it is they need from this exhibit. I am forever indebted to these women for their bravery, and never forgetting that bravery takes many forms. This was ours!
MALIN ENSTRÖM
Artist
From 2012, I have had the honour to photograph thirteen brave Newfoundland women in their journeys through breast cancer. Capturing their bodies, their scars , their grace and their courage has been a humbling assignment. But nothing in comparison to the journey these women have and are going through.
One out of Nine is an art project that celebrates life. It is also a project to show another side, a very real side, of what breast cancer looks like. In Canada, one out of nine women gets diagnosed with breastcancer and this project is intended to reveal a personal level of breast cancer, and the scars that come with it, be they on the outside or on the inside.
To Sondria, Lainie, Sherry, Stephanie, Natasha, Tiffany, Debbie, Marina, Jodie, Kelli-Rae, Wanda, Elisabeth and Heather- thank you for your trust and for being the thirteen bravest women I have ever met.
Malin