Hospice Series
Please click on each image for larger view.
In August 2005, my mother’s health suddenly declined. A leaky heart valve had worsened and unfortunately she was not a candidate for surgery. After enduring several medically aggressive drug treatments she chose to enter Hospice care. This is a form of healthcare where life-saving measures are eliminated and replaced with making the patient as comfortable as possible. Over the next four months I watched her biological rhythms change as her body went through the process of dying. The images that make up the Hospice series represent snapshots that remain in my memory from that experience. As a novice caregiver, I was unaware of the stages that the human body and spirit travels through during a terminal illness. These stages give medical personal clues to the health of the patient. As I spent time with my mother and those caring for her I learned some of these subtle signs and became a familiar with the specific language. I also found that when speaking to people who had been through a similar experience, that they also understood this language. They could offer comfort and understanding without much explanation on my part. The ability to offer support during experiences such as this is a gift that we share with our loved ones along with strangers. The objective of this project is to offer a method of visually expressing aspects of this language and situations that are often difficult for words to convey. I want to offer a dignified visual representation for people to share their experience of helping loved ones die with grace. Technically, the work is produced using computer software programs such as Adobe Photoshop and is printed as a limited-edition archival giclée print. The pieces are composed of personal images taken with my digital camera and paint strokes created with my Wacom pen. The project was provided with support from the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
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