HEALING GARDENS
ARTIST STATEMENT
As I wrestled with feelings of isolation, hurt, and abandonment, I remembered how my dad explained cancer and chemotherapy when I was first diagnosed with A.L.L Leukemia at seven years old. He described cancer as a healthy garden overtaken by weeds. For health and vibrancy to return to the garden the weeds needed to be removed. The process of removing the weeds might be painful, but it is the only way to restore the garden. It took fourteen years to genuinely believe and speak the words, “God healed me through chemotherapy. It was a process, and God wants to heal.” This photo series helped me and others walk through their own grief.
Birthed from the process of wrestling with God and healing through cancer, the work explores the complexities of that journey - grief, wholeness and the in-betweens. The format in which I shot the pieces stems from the classic story arc, beginning with perfection to chaos to healing and to wholeness.
ARTIST CREDITS
Photographer/Creative Director Bekah Wriedt
Gallery Curator + Performance Art Dennissa Young
Model Dominique Perry
Hair + Makeup Brandi Koerten
Wardrobe Styling Theresa DeMaria
Wardrobe Styling Camille Ries
Photo Assistant Abi Voightman
Umbrella Holder + Cheerleader Christina Zeigler
THANK YOU
My parents, Dirk + Nancy Wriedt, Dr. Shannon Dean, Dr. Margo Hoover-regan,
N.P Sharon Frierdich, Brie + Jordan Pflederer, JP + Rachel Troglio, Ben + Merin Minch,
Nick Smith, Dennissa Young, Keren Diaz De Leon, Stacy Carbol, Patty Ridings,
Bekka Schaffer, and the innumerable people who have touched my life in big and small ways.