Lynne's Story and the Livlif Project

At the end of October 1994, at age 45, Lynne was diagnosed with breast cancer. While in her first year at art school she had breast surgery and lost the whole summer to radiation treatment. Starting back for her second year of study was difficult as she lacked energy, was often depressed and lost confidence in her artistic ability.

Lynne says, "In 1996, the beginning of my third year, I decided to try to make sense of it in an artistic way. The problem was how to express those feelings of fear, isolation and sadness that had at times overwhelmed me, combined with a strange sense of euphoria, which kept me going through my treatment. One day I came across a black lacy bra which I felt I could no longer wear. I hung it up on my studio wall together with a mirror at breast height. It was totally random but somehow it seemed to speak volumes. I began to look at how we view ourselves as women and how having breast cancer affects our self esteem."

Lynne began to collect second-hand bras from op-shops. Old bras seemed to speak of the history of women and she was reminded that women come in all shapes and sizes. At last she had found a more tactile way of representing her experience. She continued to develop her ideas and at the end of 1996 had her first public exhibition. Whilst collecting bras to continue her work she met many women who had experienced breast cancer and felt privileged to hear their stories.

In 2004, to celebrate Lynne's10th year as a breast cancer survivor she planned an exciting art project, LIVLIF. The focus of the LIVLIF project was the positive, life-affirming representation of breast cancer survivors. She invited breast cancer 'survivors' and 'supporters' to participate in the project by donating a bra. She had a fantastic response to the call with a total of 1480 bras, 668 from survivors. Many women sent messages of encouragement with their bra.

As a culmination of Lynne's efforts, the LIVLIF exhibition was held at the Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch, in February 2005. It was a great success, with many cancer survivors attending to give their support. Lynne will take the show to Timaru in August 2005, Blenheim and Oamaru in 2006, (see her website) followed by galleries in the North Island. Her hope is that the show will be seen by as many people as possible, especially those who have participated. Images from the exhibition are now available at http://www.lynnelambert.net

Lynne's Story and the Livlif Project

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