What is “Battle Inside”?
When I suffered from cancer in stage 4 (and relapsed which has brought me to despair) my oncologist gave me a book by Dr Simonton. In this book he described how someone can fight their disease through drawing or painting. I clung to the book as my last hope and started drawing.
I survived and mostly this is the achievement of the wonderful doctors who did everything to save my life. But I’m sure I had a big share in this victory. My chances were low. But I raised them a lot through my work.
Later I started sharing my experience with other patients. I shared tips on how to make small paintings and collages fast and easy. And finally I sent out 300 journals inviting strangers to draw two pages in them – as a first exercise in battle against cancer. The journals are coming back to me slowly. But hundreds of them are still on the way. If you get one – design a Page or two in it and pass it on to the next fighter! But make a photo before you give it away! You can send me the photo. I share the participants’ pictures and some of them already became part of the next art project!
I still hold workshops for cancer patients and together we invente new ways to fight. And we produce a bunch of beautiful artwork.
Many of my combatants were fighting like tigers but didn’t survive. They died, but finally they also won. They won some months or years full of inspiration and fighting spirit. (Instead of moaning and selfpity.) Others survived and are still here. Some of them help other people to fight their battles. All of them are heroes who won the best prize ever: some more happy times spent here in this world.
In 2016 I made a collection of clothes and plush toys designed with pictures fromy my “Battle Inside” project. All pieces in this collection were unique and covered with lost of embroidery and applications. They were given away to people who suffer from cancer at the moment. I also had a big exhibition in Berlin. You can see the collection here:
“Battle Inside” full catalogue
