As a practicing medical oncologist, an ongoing challenge is to make patients feel more comfortable in an environment that is often intimidating.  Fear, uncertainty and a sense of loss of control of one’s life are universal for someone dealing with cancer.  Attempting to create a more humane environment, I use photographs displayed in the clinic and hospital where I practice to engage both patient and family in a way to put them at ease, to be more comfortable opening up about any number to topics, and to soften the anxiety of the white coat syndrome.  A combination of images of people, places and things are used to engage the viewer.  If someone looks at a picture for more than seven seconds, probably it is a success.  How many times have you watched viewers in a museum barely break stride?  To actually stop and look says something.  For me, compelling reasons to look include mystery, irony and simplicity.  There is so much around us that can be enjoyed by engaging the mind as well as the eye: a child at play, a broken cup, shadows on grape leaves, a precarious stack of old books.  I try to portray the familiar with enough nuisance and subtlety that the viewer stops, looks, thinks of something of their past or says, “yes, life is worth living.” 

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Instagram: dustanosborn

Flickr: Dustan Osborn

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