My patient was diagnosed with breast cancer early last year and began her journey to healing and recovery from the first day she noticed a lump in her breast as she examined herself in front of a mirror. The first day I met her, her treatment plan had changed as she was responding well to the chemotherapy. I could tell she was happy about the news and confident in her recovery, although she described her experiences navigating this illness as “deep” and “a lot to unpack”. A global pandemic came in between us meeting in person again but through our phone conversations, I learned more about her strong belief in God, similar to mine, and how her relationship with Him has been her comfort through these challenging times. Hidden Bells was inspired from my last conversation with her in which she told me about her experience ringing the bell to celebrate the completion of her cancer treatment. I could hear the purest joy and relief in her voice, knowing that she could celebrate the end of a difficult journey. I decided to make Hidden Bells a set of two paintings, the first one showing a black hexagon, signifying the cancer, embedded in a mutli-colored collage silhouette of a woman’s body. The collage of colors representing the different pieces of her life. In the second piece, the black hexagon is broken and becomes small black bells, still embedded in a collage, symbolizing the end of her cancer treatment. I chose to use warm colors in the first piece and cool colors in the second to symbolize transition from a difficult time to a time of joy and celebration. Hidden Bells highlights the importance of paying attention to the “little things”, like the ringing of a bell, that mean so much more to the people we care for.
About the Artist: Chinemerem Nwosu
Chinemerem was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Africa’s most populated city. Living in Lagos birthed her love for the arts with its vibrant spirit and resilient culture. From a young age, Chinemerem engaged in all forms of art from performance to visual and everything in between. Her African identity is the foundation of her being and the source of her inspiration. During undergrad, she founded Duke University’s first African Choir, Amandla Chorus, and danced with Duke’s premier African dance group, Nakisai ADE. Over the years, Chinemerem has found that engaging in art and the humanities provides her the freewill to be and to express herself in the purest form. Chinemerem decided to participate in SCOPES because she wanted to experience and express art through the lens of a patient. She wanted to delve deeper into the “little things” that tell the patient’s full and true story and show that patient’s are truly more than meets the eye.
