In 2013 I was diagnosed with stage four HER2-positive breast cancer. The news came just six weeks before our second baby was due to be born. The road ahead was long, involving a two-year cardio-toxic treatment plan, further complicated by a pre-existing heart condition (postpartum cardiomyopathy) I had developed while giving birth to our first child, Griffin.

Luckily, our unborn baby was safely tucked away in another woman’s womb, being gestated for us with love and care. At the time of his birth, I had completed 2 of 18 planned chemotherapy treatment cycles. As a result, my frail body was going through medically induced menopause, and yet... there I was having phantom breastmilk letdowns whenever he cried for milk.

Looking at it now, from an ‘all clear’ standpoint, I felt a burning need to create something tangible of it, to lay it all down in story form so I could begin to understand and process what my family and I went through. 

I began to trawl the archives for visual memories to draw from when I discovered my five-year-old’s album.

Looking back, I remember encouraging him to photograph me at key moments throughout my treatment plan. I think I felt seeing me through a camera might help him process what was happening to his mother. So, in part, these photos are his memories.

Composed of recreated archival photographs originally taken by my five-year-old son, Griffin, paired with my own current reflections of the time, ‘Through My Child’s Eyes’ chronicles a chapter of time when new life and near death momentarily sat side by side. The series seeks to provide a balanced view between the past and the present, through child-adult perspectives, in sickness and in health.

Awards & Publications

'Through My Child's Eyes' is now a self-published photobook - Limited, signed edition of     /50  copies available  Here. 

This series was selected as Top 50 finalist in Photolucida  Critical Mass  2023 (USA)

‘Through My Child's Eyes’ serves as a testament to resilience, love, and the power of familial bonds in the face of adversity. Lisa's collaboration with her son not only captures significant moments in their lives but also offers a poignant reflection on the universal themes of hope, strength, and the beauty found within life's most challenging moments.’

Centre For Fine Art Photography
Revisiting the Family Album: Stories That Bind Us.

Selected works were exhibited at the Critical Mass Top 50 Exhibition 'ALONE TOGETHER' curated by Daniel Boetker-Smith (Director for Contemporary Photography, Australia) in Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, 2024

The series was announced winner of the  2023 Gomma Photography Grant, Documentary Award.

'Your work captivated Gomma and the jury with a one-of-a-kind, experience-centred documentary that couldn't be more intimate. You impressed the jury, not only with the chosen theme but your execution and storytelling.'

'Through My Child's Eyes' was selected as a Featured Solo Exhibition for the Head On Photo Festival in 2022. Work from the series was chosen to represent Head On at PhotoSCHWEIZ, Zurich, Switzerland. 2023. 

The series received an honourable mention in the 19th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards.  Selected works were exhibited at Foto Nostrum in Barcelona, Spain, 2023.

Snippets of this story can be seen in the following publications...

See:Zeen Contemporary Photography Magazine issue #11, 2023

All About Photography magazine, issue 29 - Women, 2023

Photo Collective biannual magazine, issue 002, 2022