We all know that there are invisible diseases that invade the human body with symptoms that are invisible from the outside. But these diseases, including cancer, are very visible to the non-lay persons. Health professionals, looking at the cellular level, know the distinct visual aspects of our diseases. This duality is the starting point for the project C80 – Aesthetics of Cancer?. The aim of the project is to break down taboos about disease, and cancer in particular, and to exploit mutual learning opportunities between patients, doctors (and doctors in education), nurses, medical students and, to reinforce visuality, visual artists. As part of this process, workshops have been organised since September 2023, where participants in different configurations have had the opportunity to meet each other, learn about cancer from a scientific perspective and from the patient’s side on an experiential level (lab visits, lectures, discussions, psychological mediations, etc.).
In the end, the programme will have two outputs:
One is an exhibition that will take place in the foyer of the Semmelweis University’s Department of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research in the spring of 2024. The invited contemporary artists – Ádám Albert, Emese Benczúr, Dániel Máté, Barnabás Neogrády-Kiss, Dorottya Poór, Zsuzsi Simon – will present site-specific new works created during and after the workshops, which we hope will help to open up a new perspective on thinking about cancer for participants (and visitors).
The other is a bilingual (Hungarian and English) publication summarising the knowledge and experiences gained throughout the workshops, as well as documentation of the process, the artworks created and the exhibition itself.
The project is funded by the EuniWell EU grant, which enables us to collaborate not only with the Hungarian (Semmelweis University) but also with the faculty and students of three European universities (University of Florence, University of Murcia, Linnaeus University).