My Visual Interpretation
As many of you already know, in January, my visual interpretation of the microscopy world of cancer was exhibited at the Business Design Centre in London for the annual London Art Fair.
For the first time, Cancer Research UK - https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us - was the official charity partner of the event, which, as an artist and breast cancer survivor, was an ideal setting for a series that is not only scientific and personal but also inspirational to all those working with or living with breast cancer.
Beauty in the Darkest of Places
In a previous blog, I wrote about the creative mind -
https://caroleellisart.com/fluid-art-blog-carole-ellis-acrylic-pouring-nottingham/the-creative-mind -
and how the subconscious takes three approaches to transform ideas and experience into art. In this blog, we look at how artists isolate "boring" objects, spotlight them and force the viewer to notice the geometry and texture, perhaps for the first time.
Subconsciously, artists look at a problem, reframe it, and then generate new ideas before brainwaves shift to provide a fresh perspective. This fresh perspective is the artist’s unique interpretation of a specific subject.
This May, The Lancet Oncology - the world's leading oncology journal - features my work in an article entitled ‘Turning Breast Cancer into Art with Cancer Research UK’. . It showcases two parts of a four part abstract series that reimagines the microscopic world of cancer - my visual
interpretation based on a lived experience - https://caroleellisart.com/fluid-art-blog-carole-ellis-acrylic-pouring-nottingham/carole-ellis-art-at-the-london-art-fair-2026
The article touches upon how the collaboration was a powerful event that Cancer Research should look to replicate. Cancer Research UK is a highly dedicated charity committed to
improving survival rates, and as a survivor of breast cancer, my work is a testament to the fact that we can often find beauty in the darkest of places.
The Visual Interpretation
I created four new pieces of art for the London Art Fair that expanded upon the ongoing exploration of cancer at a cellular level.
Revealed publicly for the first time in January, these four pieces were my very own visual interpretation of the disease through the process of fluid art and sculptural development.
Similar to how the creative mind works, my personal experience and empirical knowledge of cancer reconceptualised a deeper psychological hook within me to help produce the series: ’
The Living Network’, ‘Mapping the Immune Response’, ‘Emergence’ and ‘Immune Response’.
‘The Living Network’ is an exploration of the hidden architecture of disease at a microscopic level; ‘Mapping the Immune Response’ is inspired by real human tissue imaging;
‘Emergence’ examines the early development of a tumour, and ‘Immune Assault‘ reimagines the moment immune cells recognise and target cancer cells.
These four works of art are examples of how artists take an object, image, subject or idea from its setting and place it in an environment where it doesn’t necessarily belong, but, in doing so, it
shines as a beacon of artistic ingenuity. When an artist does this, we aren't just rearranging things; we hijack the meaning of something and make it our own. It’s a mechanical shift whereby the things we assign meaning to are given
a whole new identity by artists, writers, and musicians alike.
The Mechanical Shift of Visual Interpretation
Similar to the creative aspect of the mind, the mechanical shift that provides us with a visual interpretation of something arrives in three stages.
And these are the three stages:-
1. Dislocation: The mind removes the subjects from its "natural" environment (e.g.,
remove a bed out of the bedroom.
2. Juxtaposition: Place it somewhere contrasting or unexpected (e.g., on the edge of a
cliff in a storm that overlooks a turbulent ocean).
3. Transformation: The viewer is forced to see the object not for its function, but as a visual exploration. The new perspective provides a form, contrast, and often, a history of
its own.
Iconic examples of artists using visual interpretation include Salvador Dali -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD - whose dreamlike paintings were fiercely technical and unusual; Andy Warhol’s - https://www.warhol.org/andy-warhols-life/ - high-culture icons that were merely mundane items of consumerism and, more recently, Banksy -
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/gallery/huge-new-banksy-sculpture-draws-1094
2680 - the street artist whose anonymity exists on gritty street corners in the form of oil paintings that create a dialogue between an historical elite and modern social issues. All these artists
used the three stages of visual interpretation for their own recontextualisation - dislocation, juxtaposition and transformation - to produce memorable works of art.
Why We Do This
Known as recontextualisation, visual interpretation is like a surgical tool removing cancer. The removal of the cancer deconstructs its power, placing it externally. Like taking a corrupt corporate logo and depicting it in a scene of decay or ridicule, the artist has the power to remove its untouchable status. We deconstruct power with our own visual interpretation.
By changing the surroundings of something like cancer cells, artists change the truth. It’s a reminder that nothing—no matter how familiar it may seem—is ever truly fixed in its meaning.
Our perceptions change over time - even profound nostalgic imagery - and artists recontextualise perceptions so that meaning is not inherent in the object, merely a product of the relationship between the object and its surroundings.
As an artist, by exhibiting my visual interpretation of cancer, I have ‘provided beauty in the darkest of places’, and I hope you agree that, whilst the subject matter is intense and dark, my work is uplifting and inspirational for all those involved, especially medics, scientists, carers, those fortunate enough to live on after cancer, families and friends of sufferers, and those undergoing treatment at the moment. If you are inspired by this story, please view other inspirational works of art in my gallery