This morning, February 8th, a new photography exhibition, ‘Bold’, by Dutch photographer Caroline Sikkenk, has opened in the Adeje department of health where the public can view the works until February 24th. The event was sparked by events marking World Cancer Day this month, and this exhibition is mounted by the Walk for Life foundation sponsored by the Diario de Avisos foundation, and with the collaboration of the Adeje council.
Caroline Sikkenk has photographed women who have lost their hair following chemotherapy, as result of intensive radiation therapy or alopecia. For most women, losing their hair can be a very upsetting experience.
Adeje mayor José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga said that the exhibition “is about an important step towards the normalisation and visibility of breast cancer”. He added, “What the artist has done is show us the beauty behind the battle against cancer, the battle these women fight, the beauty of their energy, creating a space of beauty and communication. The social change that a women may go through when she loses her hair is, fortunately, something that is changing, and thanks to things like this exhibition we see that these brave women wear their female baldness as a badge of combat, symbols of energy and reaching out”.
The councillor for health, Amada Trujillo Bencomo said that the exhibition was part of many activities that the council and her department are undertaking in partnership with the Spanish cancer association and the Walk for Life foundation. The ‘Bold’ exhibition will reinforce the massage of help, of visibility for and of those with breast cancer, an illness mostly suffered by women. The exhibition is open to the public until February 24th in the offices of the department of health, and from March 1st to 15th in the Las Torres sports centre. The mounting of the exhibition, which includes two Canarian women, was made possible thanks to the support of the Adeje council.
Brigitte Gypen, president of the Walk for Life foundation, explained that the initiative was part of the wider Think Pink Europe movement, an association of European breast cancer associations, which includes our Walk for Life foundation. Currently present in over 20 countries, Think Pink Europe plays an active role in bridging the gap in health care for those with breast cancer in different countries, and helps and funds research and better care practices and treatments.
Caroline Sikkenk
Caroline is a professional photographer and says, “I consider it a privilege for me to make an occupation out of my passion. I studied photography at the Photo Academy in Amsterdam. I later followed various Master studies in Portrait and Advertising Photography under the supervision of Paul Huf, Kees Tabak and Carli Hermes (Fashion Photography).
“My talent lies in photographing people; be they documentary photographs, fashion or portrait series, promotional photographs or concert/theatre photographs. Capturing the right moment with the shutter has always been and still remains an exciting challenge for me.
“It takes courage to let others see you without your hair. Not only are these women ‘bald’, they are above all ‘BOLD’: strong and courageous.”
