The third project of the year was for my TAFE art studies (multi-disciplinary art) and was exhibited in the Bravery Unmasked exhibition at Casula Powerhouse Museum, an art centre in Sydney’s south-west. In the exhibition radiation masks, used to immobilise the head in cancer treatment, are turned into artworks by patients, their family and supporters.

The work is called Determination Cap and consists of a cowl and a balaclava-styled cap.

Cancer patients confront physical and mental challenges akin to those faced by generations of explorers, soldiers and mariners. To protect them from the elements, they wore woollen ‘caps’ knitted by their loved ones.

This cap has been hand-knitted in orange Australian wool to portray both the determination of those who journey with cancer, and the loved ones who support them along the way.