When faced with an almost overwhelming family ordeal, John Magnan decided to turn pain into art.
After his wife, Mary, was diagnosed with an advanced stage of ovarian cancer in April 1999, the professional sculptor and New Bedford, Mass., native began crafting various artistic works to help him cope with her illness.
"I'm an artist, and this was my way of dealing with the trauma of my wife's fairly severe diagnosis," Magnan said.
The pieces eventually became the 15 compositions forming the "Body Image/Body Essence" national art exhibit tour. The exhibit opened Friday at a gallery in the Molly Grove Chapel of Lansing's First Presbyterian Church, 510 W. Ottawa St., and will remain there until mid-May.
The show began in 2001 and will be shown at various venues across the country through 2004.
Magnan said he launched the exhibit to raise awareness for ovarian cancer and to depict its effects on those with the disease.
"I thought it would be unique pathway to the psyche of someone dealing with the disease," Magnan said.
Tom Green, a First Presbyterian pastor, said the art provides a dramatic view of cancer and is also educational.
"It's a beautiful exhibit," he said.
According to the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, ovarian cancer occurs in one out of every 57 women in the United States The cancer occurs when malignant cells develop on the surface of an ovary and are shed into the pelvis.
An estimated 25,400 American women will be diagnosed with the disease this year, and an estimated 14,300 will die from it. Fifty percent of the women diagnosed with ovarian cancer die from the disease within five years.
In order to convey the fear over pain from chemotherapy treatment and the lingering possibility of death, Magnan chose different instruments and models to illustrate various stages of the disease.
Another piece, "Teal Madonna," is an eyeless, mouthless head made of Filipino mahogany wood covered with 2,000 teal ribbons, forming a parting hairline revealing the hair loss women can experience during the early stages of treatment.
"Survivor," a collage of 25 multicolored photographs, traces Magnan's wife's physical transformation over the course of her struggle with ovarian cancer.
"Dear Diary" includes an "abstract head" made out of excerpts from prescription receipts, clinical trials, insurance forms and hospital bills.
"Art can communicate pain in a non-verbal way," Magnan said."Visual art can be cathartic, validating and inspiring."
Yasmina Bouraoui, an East Lansing resident, said viewing the exhibit was a moving and intellectually stimulating experience.
"It helped me understand the journey cancer victims go through emotionally," she said.
