American Girls Series

I wanted to create a sense of acceptance and beauty in the changes that occur after the trauma of breast cancer. I’ve made a series of paintings based on anonymous photos from the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in New Orleans. I used non-toxic, clay-based paints to create a simple design that shows scars and contour lines flowing and tapering. Scars are the lines of experience many women can’t avoid, yet there’s no reason they can’t still be sensual and beautiful, no matter the surgeon's skill. Scars make us one of a kind, as well. Every woman I know who has survived breast cancer or who is fighting it is a robust and unique woman. I dedicate these paintings to them, and the grandmothers, mothers, sisters, and daughters…who have not survived cancer, and to Valley Community Healthcare. May all Americans continue to have access to the cancer treatments and doctors that they need.

Each painting, American Girls 1 - 4, also includes one word referring to the risk factors of breast cancer.

Not counting some kinds of skin cancer, Breast Cancer in the United States is
The most common cancer in women, no matter your race or ethnicity.
The most common cause of death from cancer among Hispanic women.
The second most common cause of death from cancer among white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.
For more information, visit Cancer Among Women.

In 2014 (the most recent year numbers are available)—236,968 women and 2,141 men in the United States were diagnosed with breast cancer.† 41,211 women and 465 men in the United States died from breast cancer.†
†Data source: U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2014 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Atlanta (GA): Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2017.

Updated statistical and advisement information is available at: https://www.cdc.gov/united-states-cancer-statistics/publications/breast-cancer-stat-bite.html.

Sarrow will be continuing this series in 2025.