Magdalini Vogiatzi

inArt

Medical Fields
Biomedical Science, Cancer Biology, Cancer Research, Gynaecology, Oncology, Surgery

Creative Forms
Photography

Places
Chania-Crete, Greece

WOMAN : RESTART

“Cancer”. At the hearing of the word we feel small and weak. We have to fight against a beast that will scatter us. And yet ,there are many times when we are winners, like David who fought against Goliath.

When a woman learns that she has breast cancer, her world is shattered. Not only her life but also her femininity is threatened, since the breast is the symbol of her beauty, the female ornament of her being. It’s also the symbol of motherhood that gives life through feeding her little ones and a source of pleasure in her sexuality .

Mastectomy, inevitable many times for survival, does not cease to be a violent-aggressive intervention in woman’s body. Stress of castration wakes up. By losing either a part or her whole chest, her hair from chemotherapy (also element of femininity), she also loses her self-esteem and her sexual mood. Losing her breast, she enters a little more into men’s world or something that is intermediate, a frontier.

Women who face breast cancer usually do not even look at their own truncated image. Their reflection fills them with insecurity, shame and a sense of disability overwhelms them. Let alone photographed. That is why there are very few pictures of women before and after their surgeries.

And yet. Is this not something that happens to 1 out of 9 women? Should not they accept their new body? Doesn’t the different become normal when we look at it?

The wonderful women who collaborated with me in this project, having gone a long and arduous way to the absolute survival, give us an example of human will. They are images of the future. They show us that this is not the end of the world, and that they are here among us. They continue to live and they live well. Even better than before because they came into contact with themselves. They learned to love & take care of themselves. The disease became a self-realization journey for them. But not a lonely journey.

The positive attitude of their loving partners through support – in a difficult period for them too- was crucial to regaining love and acceptance for their bodies and enjoying their femininity and sexual life.

From scratch!

Magdalini Vogiatzi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9KsuDdvHq8&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkdLknNI5Vo&feature=youtu.be

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In this artwork, at first glance, we realize that the health armor, we all intimately wear, has been broken. The strips of fabric, a soft and malleable material (breast), soon become something hard and rigid (tumor). But not unbreakable. One of the woman's hands tenderly supports the breast witch is about to be removed. The other carries the knife. An instrument that takes away or gives life. The woman, before she is left in the hands of the surgeon, has already removed the affected breast by herself. She has accepted that it is necessary. She has also accepted her image without it. She is fighting back against cancer to win her life! The cracks all over the surface of the artwork symbolize the countless cracks of her soul throughout this journey. It is the cracks, however, that allow the light to pass through. And light always leads to redemption! Magdalini Vogiatzi Stomatolog and fine art photographer #against breast cancer#

«Together against breast cancer» | The photographic project of Magdalini Vogiatzi, Dentist and Artist, increases awareness on breast cancer, highlighting the powerful role of art on prevention and cure. “Through my photos, I have been trying to convey the message of breast cancer awareness and prevention, as both of them are of extreme importance in the fight against it. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the West, but men are not unfortunately excluded either. The saying "Ignorance kills, prevention saves" is totally confirmed in the case of this disease. For the battle against it, programs including information campaigns, breast check ups, continuous training for the doctors and medical staff, funds for research etc are required. Feeling that it is not just a national issue but everyone's concern as well, through that simple and direct way I raise awareness to our fellow citizens, sending them a powerful message of hope, at the same time. Because even after such a painful experience, love and acceptance of our body can still be regained and life can still be enjoyed. Warm thanks to all these wonderful women; fighters and winners of life who agreed to participate in this groundbreaking photo shoot depicting their reality without any embellishment.” For more info about the project click here (article in Greek): shorturl.at/puAY4 ©Magdalini Vogiatzi

©Magdalini Vogiatzi

Magdalini Vogiatzi

BIO
Magdalini Vogiatzi was born in Athens. She studied stomatology wich is practicing in Chania/Crete, where he has been living, since 1994. She is amateurishly involved in painting and photography. She is a graduate of the Department of Mental Health "Art Therapy with Emphasis on Art" of the University of the Aegean and the "Art of Photography" Department of DIEK Chania. She has also attended the "Introduction to Image Editing" program by covering editing programs, interventions Retouch & Photoshop organized under the auspices of Open Popular University of Crete as well as seminar - Portrait Workshop of the Craftiuspro School. Her photos have been awarded / distinguished in Panhellenic & World Competitions. She has presented her photographic work in 4 individual and numerous group exhibitions in Chania, Athens, Thessaloniki (Momus), Heraklion & other cities across Greece, in Nicosia, in the Greek press (magazines photographer, Photonet, Haniotika News), On the International Phmuseum platform, as well as on the global platform of artists, combining science with medicine, MEDinART. Her works are found in the permanent collection of the Municipal Art Gallery of Chania, in the permanent collection of the "Museum of Contemporary Art - Olive Oil", the Hellenic Cancer Society (KEYEEE) and in private collections. Her works related to breast cancer has been used by the Municipality of Chania in its campaigns for prevention & have become a banners in the Chania Town Hall. Since 2016 she is president of the Pancreatic Association of Art Creators "Neorion of Art".