diamonds in the rough
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
A commissioned work by Michele Renée Ledoux to celebrate the 5th Year Anniversary of the Illuminations program at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston, MA.
The write-up featured below went long with the artwork and was featured in the publication, "Illuminations 2001-2006: A Retrospective" published by Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center (Artwork and writing featured on p16-17).
Damariscotta, a quaint fishing village in mid-coast Maine, was a favorite destination of Ed Sullivan, the cancer patient who inspired the Illuminations program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. Its name is derived from an old Native American Abenaki word meaning "river of many fishes.”
It is here, along the banks of the Damariscotta River, where 2,500 year-old oyster shell middens (heaps) are found and have been designated as a state historical site. Three miles in, on a lush, heavily-wooded trail, one discovers the sacred alter of an ancient Native American lifestyle long since forgotten. Upon approach, these middens, now covered with rich vegetation, boast a superficial simplicity. But, upon closer inspection, immeasurable layers of complexity are freely revealed.
In addition to the significance of this place and its connection to Ed Sullivan, the oyster itself is a powerful symbol. Its hardened, highly-calcified shell, created in order to protect its inner, soft body, can be likened to the human experience. Just as the oyster is very much affected by the brackish water in which it grows, we too are very much affected by our environment. Who and what we choose to surround ourselves with very much affects us. Like the oyster, throughout our lives, we tend to build up a hardened wall around our soul to protect our “selves” from hurt. Times of dis-ease, however, can often inspire a different choice and experience of life. Only when our walls come down are we exposed to the beauty of life in all its forms, unprotected.
“Diamonds in the rough” speaks to those friends, family and caretakers of Ed Sullivan who not only surrounded him, but imbibed him with light in his time of darkness. In essence, the stone image is Ed Sullivan. The oyster shells coddle the stone in a free, unconditional exchange of light and dark, peace and suffering, joy and pain. This loving embrace symbolizes Ed’s choice to surround himself with friends, family and art, beckoning him to express his own inner brilliance.
Art does, in fact, help us heal. It helps to illuminate our soul in a time of darkness. It is a gentle way to inner reflection.
It helps us to remember that the world truly is our oyster.
The Illuminations program at the Mass General Hospital Cancer Center recognizes the healing power of art by creating a “visually healing environment offering enlightenment, inspiration and encouragement to patients, families, staff and friends of the Cancer Center as they receive care, provide care or accompany loved ones.”
“and, here I sit…
illuminated by the brilliance
of oysters that surround me”
