Maria Chiguvari
AFTER a relative was diagnosed with breast cancer, female photographer, Nyasha Gurure, shot what she calls “Let the pots cook” which showed two pots across the bare chest.
Gurure’s aunt died without going through chemotherapy.
The language used at her aunt’s funeral motivated her to take the picture showing a lady with two pink pots across her bare chest and a lid on top of her head.
“In my early years, my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. I saw her struggle, pain, body changes and how she later died.
“The confusing language that was used at the funeral gave me questions.
“People were saying she was not burnt, that’s why she died.
“I tried to think of how one can be burnt to save a life. I then realised later on that it’s a process called chemotherapy but our local language could not explain it better than burning the disease.”
She added:
“With regards to this campaign, I will say I rather have an advantage because I can express the feelings of a woman with how sensitive the breast is, I can imagine pain from within.
“So, for this season, I decided to use an illustration of pots since they are known for conducting heat, making it easy to understand this process of treatment.”
The pots are a representative of chemotherapy and the emotion on the model shows the pain but, at the same time, a process of healing.
The lid shows how breast cancer causes headaches, memory loss, the changes in mood, personality, or behaviour.
She collaborated with a black model.
“This breast cancer awareness month I have collaborated with a model to send a message to every African woman that don’t fear the check there are treatments that can save your life.”