Attention: This page contains digital documentation of materials currently being developed for a physical Installation. Please note that this is not a finished piece, it is an ongoing record of A work in progress.

Slow Burn

In contemporary cancer treatment, radiation therapy is akin to burning down a forest to allow for healthy new growth. Normally, the physical record of this radiation is inscribed on the body, as the skin slowly accumulates damage. That record is intense, painful, and brief; as the burns heal and tender new layers of skin emerge, little trace of the trauma and damage is left. It is an unconventional time-based media, somewhere between performance and auto-destructive art. No traditional medium, such as celluloid or tape, is capable of recording this story due to the metallic components embedded within, which scatter and block ionized beams.

Slow Burn uses specialized Radiochromic film (normally reserved for dosimetry) to materially capture the process of radiation treatment, making visible the unseen photon beams as they work to destroy their target site. Placed behind the patient’s shoulder blade each day, the films below record 25 sessions over the course of 5 weeks.

Technical Information: 25 fractions of 50 Gy external beam photon radiation targeting the left breast, chestwall and comprehensive regional nodal lymphatics.

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An enormous thank you to the amazing techs that let me do this crazy experiment (and cheered me along the entire way), and who were also beautiful lights shining in each very dark day. Additional thanks to the nurses, staff, and doctors who cared for me so well, and Good Sam Butler Radiation Oncology for approving my use of their very expensive equipment:

For Marcia, Kerri, Melissa, Bethany, Lori, Tiana, Amy, Christy, Deb, Kristina, Theresa, and Dr. Shehata.

Thank you to my family, near and far:

To Eric, Nina, Lydia, Julie, Denny, Jack, Lisa, Suzanne, Marnie, Cliff, Sara, Molly and family, Caitlin and family, Nick and family, Luke and family, Alex and family, Lena, Lizzie, Jeanette, Bob, Michael, Jenna, and Andrea.

Additional special thank you to the Reddit communities r/Radiology and r/radiationoncology — users u/Traditional_Day4327, u/1head2arms2legs, u/raccoonsandstuff, and u/radoncdoc13 in particular.

Dedicated to my Mom.