I am exhibiting a collage as part of the group show "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: A Response by African-American Artists" at Mountain View College in Dallas, TX.
The exhibition is open November 15 - December 9, 2011.
Henrietta Lacks was an young African-American woman diagnosed with aggressive cervical cancer in 1951. During her treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital (the only in her vicinity to treat black patients at the time), part of her tumor was removed without her or her family's knowledge or permission. After her death, her cells were grown into the HeLa Immortal Cell Line, which is still one of the most commonly used cell lines today in biomedical research and has become one of the most powerful tools in modern medicine. Her cells were used to develop the Polio vaccine, and are used in cancer, AIDS, and radiation research, among areas of study.
Not only is the science of HeLa fascinating, but this book provides a multi-layered investigation of race and medical ethics in the USA and abroad, and the unacknowledged contributions of both Black patients and scientists. Skloot provides personal accounts from the Lacks' family and their troubled histories, but in a way that highlights their dignity and grace. Her narrative style makes this book very difficult to put down, and I recommend this to anyone looking for a great read.
I found the chapter called "Night Doctors" to be especially riveting, as Skloot exposes some of the fear tactics used during slavery in the US, and actual trafficking of bodies of slaves from the South to the North for medical research. It provides an important context for the disparities in health care today when looking at communities of color, in particular that of Black Americans.
The exhibition is open November 15 - December 9, 2011.
Henrietta Lacks was an young African-American woman diagnosed with aggressive cervical cancer in 1951. During her treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital (the only in her vicinity to treat black patients at the time), part of her tumor was removed without her or her family's knowledge or permission. After her death, her cells were grown into the HeLa Immortal Cell Line, which is still one of the most commonly used cell lines today in biomedical research and has become one of the most powerful tools in modern medicine. Her cells were used to develop the Polio vaccine, and are used in cancer, AIDS, and radiation research, among areas of study.
Not only is the science of HeLa fascinating, but this book provides a multi-layered investigation of race and medical ethics in the USA and abroad, and the unacknowledged contributions of both Black patients and scientists. Skloot provides personal accounts from the Lacks' family and their troubled histories, but in a way that highlights their dignity and grace. Her narrative style makes this book very difficult to put down, and I recommend this to anyone looking for a great read.
I found the chapter called "Night Doctors" to be especially riveting, as Skloot exposes some of the fear tactics used during slavery in the US, and actual trafficking of bodies of slaves from the South to the North for medical research. It provides an important context for the disparities in health care today when looking at communities of color, in particular that of Black Americans.
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| "Night Doctors No. 1" - collage, graphite, ink on paper - 2011 |
It is an interesting story and I was able to learn alot about cancer and science. It is well written, and shows the conditions for african-americans during this time.
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