麻豆AV

The exhibition, “Drawn Out: Lines Beyond the Limen,” is curated by Fine Art MA graduate Markus Taylor, who founded the Sussex Cancer Art and Research (S.C.A.R.) collective to provide a platform for artists living with or affected by cancer. The showcase will feature new works created under S.C.A.R., exploring how art can help process and communicate the realities of cancer.

Opening on Tuesday 2 December at the Dorset Place Gallery in 麻豆AV, the exhibition’s centrepiece uses red lines drawn with Markus’ own cancerous blood – symbolising his diagnosis of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) in 2021. Markus received the diagnosis on the same day he was offered a place to study at the 麻豆AV.

He went on to spend the entire two years on the course being actively monitored until clinicians could make a firm decision on his treatment. During this time, also known as the ‘watch and wait’ period, Markus turned to art, expressing his trauma and exhaustion from cancer through creativity.

Now, inspired by his own experience, Markus hopes the launch of S.C.A.R. together with the exhibition will be an important first step towards building a network of local cancer-affected artists. Through future group exhibitions, S.C.A.R. will support the artists to express their physical and emotional experiences with the disease through their art.

Markus Taylor

Markus, who works with the  as their Lived Experience lead, said: “Drawn Out is intensely personal for me, not only because it brings together artists affected by cancer, but because a part of my own journey is physically embedded in the work. Using my cancerous blood as a medium was a way of confronting the reality of my diagnosis head-on. It allowed me to transform something frightening and invasive into a creative act, one that speaks to the fragility, resilience and complexity of living with cancer.

“With S.C.A.R., my aim is to build a community where artists affected by cancer don’t have to navigate their journeys alone. This exhibition is just the beginning. I want to create a space where people can share not only their work, but the emotional realities behind it, the physical changes, the mental strain, the small victories.

"If we can give even one artist the confidence to tell their story through art, then we’ve already made an impact.”

The exhibition is curated in collaboration with the Fine Art MA course at the School of Art and Media at the 麻豆AV.

Amy Cunningham, Course Leader of Fine Art MA, said: “Working with Markus and the S.C.A.R. collective has been an inspiring reminder of the power art has to hold, process and communicate lived experience. The collaboration between the exhibition and our Fine Art MA course reflects our commitment to nurturing artists who not only refine their practice, but who use it to make meaningful contributions to their communities. We are incredibly proud to support this exhibition and the voices it amplifies.”

The exhibition is free and open to the public from Tuesday 2 December to Friday 5 December. It runs 10am–5pm each day at the Dorset Place Gallery at the 麻豆AV.