{"id":1393,"date":"2025-04-28T10:17:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T10:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sickaf.amandaalderson.com\/dir\/?page_id=1393"},"modified":"2025-07-06T09:52:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T09:52:24","slug":"sick-af-foreword","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sickaf.amandaalderson.com\/dir\/about-sick-af\/sick-af-foreword\/","title":{"rendered":"SICK AF Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Revealing such deeply personal experiences takes immense courage.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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SICK AF<\/em> showcases the transformative power of art to express the complexities of chronic illness, injury, and recovery through stories of resilience, hope, and shared humanity. Through diverse narratives, artists transform challenges into expressions of beauty, empowerment, and connection. Their works invite viewers into spaces where symbols resonate, imperfections reveal strength, and cultural and emotional narratives intertwine. SICK AF<\/em> powerfully affirms art\u2019s capacity to inspire growth and healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amanda Alderson, chart your path (ring, detail), 2023, 925 silver, brass, CZ gemstones; wood, acrylic, twine, stone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The studio became my sanctuary during my own health crisis. As artist and curator, SICK AF<\/em> became a three-year journey to rebuild my identity and safely navigate my world. My curatorial vision was to create an exhibition where artists could share their own voice. Revealing such deeply personal experiences takes immense courage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Susan
Susan Margareta Allwood, The Hera, lino print<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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My health journey has been shaped by the principles artists embrace in the creative process: \u201cBeing led by curiosity\u2014experimentation\u2014and embracing failure as part of the process<\/em>.\u201d Similarly, Susan Margareta Allwood<\/a><\/strong> found strength through art: \u201cWhen I became crippled again in 2000, I figured that\u2019s it, I\u2019m buggered. So I began my own art gallery in my cottage.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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For Christina Baltais<\/a><\/strong>, creativity is a vital means of expression: \u201cI use creativity as means to communicate and process my experiences living with a heavily stigmatised and misunderstood disease.<\/em>\u201d Helena Bogucki<\/a><\/strong> and her daughter embraced imagination, creating \u201ca world that kept them both safe from the fear of the unknown waiting behind the closed doors of long hallways<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Christina
Christina Baltais, I Did A Thing, 2024, digital collage art<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Helena
Helena Bogucki, Bird Island, 2018, installation at Nyisztor Studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"SICK
SICK AF exhibition installation: Ron Bradfield Jnr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Nadeen
Nadeen Brown, Hippo\/ Life’s a balancing act, 2023, felt tip on paper, digitised \n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Ron Bradfield Jnr<\/a><\/strong> confronts cancers both internal and external: \u201cThe truth is, it\u2019s far easier for me to address this cancer inside of me and RESET my own body, than it is to address the cancer of racism, bigotry and dismissiveness that I\u2019ve been forced to grow up with.<\/em>\u201d Nadeen Brown<\/a><\/strong> embraces her new identity through art: \u201cI am not the person I once was, I grieved her; yet I am free of her. I see beauty in life and when I physically cannot see the beauty, I create it, to view for myself.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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SICK AF<\/em> powerfully affirms art\u2019s capacity to inspire growth and healing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Melissa Cameron<\/a><\/strong> reflects the intimate intersection between art and healing: \u201c\u2026no raw or overlocked edges to irritate, or threads to soak in the pools of lotion that I must anoint myself with twice daily\u2026 The result, a medicinal dress.<\/em>\u201d Kate Campbell-Pope<\/a><\/strong> finds solace in the act of gentle creation: \u201cWorking gently, always gently. The leaves, part of the prayer for healing, for recovery, stitch themselves into this bone, allowing it to be offered now, with gratitude<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"SICK
SICK AF exhibition installation: L-R Lucinda Crimson, Melissa Cameron <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Kate Campbell-Pope, Collect, 2016, floristry wire, bandage, thread, carved cuttlefish, photo: Brad Coleman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Brad
Brad Coleman, Fallen, 2024, monotype, digitised, print on canvas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Olga Cironis<\/a><\/strong> captures the essence of her journey: \u201cA marking to find my way to being.<\/em>\u201d Brad Coleman <\/a><\/strong>highlights the restorative nature of creativity: \u201cFor me, the act of creating is more than just a visual pursuit \u2013 it\u2019s a moment of stillness amid the demands of daily life.<\/em>\u201d Meanwhile, Lucinda Crimson<\/a> <\/strong>reflects on the impact of illness: \u201c2024 finds me disabled and exhausted with crippling fatigue from ME\/CFS. I used to be bright and extroverted, with a colourful wardrobe, home, and art practice. Now, I\u2019m fading.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Olga
Olga Cironis, studio portrait with artwork Found It, 2020, repurposed child\u2019s camouflage sleeping bag and pink lace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Lucinda
Lucinda Crimson, One of millions missing, 2024, oil, enamel and acrylic on wood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Ana Fuentes, Onward to Finding Myself again (compilation), 2021-2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Ana Fuentes<\/a><\/strong> rediscovers inner strength: \u201cSlowly but surely I found hope. I realised I had always had the power. I just had to learn for myself.<\/em>\u201d Catherine Higham<\/strong><\/a> envisions a reimagined world, drawing \u201con this time of immense personal uncertainty as well as global uncertainty to imagine a changed social order, in which nature could reassert itself.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Catherine
Catherine Higham, Unseen Assembly (in situ), 2022\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Sunniva
Sunniva Innstrand, Life In The Shadowlands , 2023, audiovisual video essay, 15 minutes (film still)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sunniva Innstrand<\/a><\/strong> boldly questions in the face of her disease \u201cHow dare I want more from this life?\u201d<\/em> Eden Lennox<\/a><\/strong> channels grief into her art: \u201cMy pieces represent embodied grief\u2014significant past lifechanging events I have experienced.<\/em>\u201d Wendy Lugg <\/a><\/strong>reflects on the meditative power of stitching: \u201cI wonder if Harry found comfort in the slow drawing of thread through cloth. For me, the calm solitude of stitching has offered healing and solace during difficult times.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Eden
Eden Lennox, Praeteritum I, 2024, 925 silver with patina, copper, gold leaf, enamel, and glass\nEden Lennox, Praeteritum II and Praeteritum III, 2024, 925 silver with patina, glass, gold leaf and enamel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Wendy
Wendy Lugg, Not a Bed of Roses 4, (detail), 2020-2024, repurposed vintage fabrics, thread, shells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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SICK AF<\/em> illuminates the healing potential of creativity and the strength found in vulnerability.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\"Shayne
Shayne O\u2019Donnell, Salt, 2023, Mulberry stain and salt on paper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Annemieke
Annemieke Mulders, Essence, 2013, porcelain, glaze, stains, epoxy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Shereen
Shereen Ricupero, Hands, 2023, Creative non-fiction\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

For Annemieke Mulders<\/a><\/strong>, the act of breaking and repairing becomes a metaphor for self-healing: \u201cWhile repeatedly destroying and repairing this ceramic, I mend my soul a bit at a time, seeking acceptance for its fragility.\u201d<\/em> Shayne O\u2019Donnell<\/a><\/strong> poses a poignant question: \u201cWill my salty tears preserve or erode me?<\/em>\u201d Shereen Ricupero<\/a><\/strong> explores the tension between holding on and letting go: \u201cI cradle her disease in my palm, ignoring the slow rot, the white ants, the sands of the hourglass.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire Townsend<\/a><\/strong> reflects on resilience: \u201cThe beauty of the vessel symbolises the layers and \u2018silver lining\u2019 that can eventuate from negative experiences<\/em>.\u201d Annamaria Weldon<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s connection to nature guides her healing: \u201cMy needs were different now that illness had \u2018rewired my brain, my body\u2019, but my devotion to the lake\u2019s resilient, adaptive nature was as strong as ever.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Claire
Claire Townsend, Store:transform:process, 2023, Silver and Vitreous enamel, 4cm x 2.5cm x 1cm, photo: Yasmin Eghtesadi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Annamaria
Annamaria Weldon, Thrombolites Clear Water, photograph, 2009, mounted<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

SICK AF<\/em> illuminates the healing potential of creativity and the strength found in vulnerability. As the collective voices within SICK AF<\/em> remind us, art is not just a tool for self-expression but a sanctuary for recovery, a testament to adaptability, and a beacon of inspiration for those navigating life\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amanda Alderson <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Revealing such deeply personal experiences takes immense courage. SICK AF showcases the transformative power of art to express the complexities of chronic illness, injury, and recovery through stories of resilience, hope, and shared humanity. Through diverse narratives, artists transform challenges into expressions of beauty, empowerment, and connection. Their works invite viewers into spaces where symbols … <\/p>\n

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