Model Brianne Urzada poses to illustrate cancer grief
Warning: Some of the below images contain mild nudity
Brianne Urzada has been modeling professionally since she was a teenager, but her last photo shoot was for personal reasons.
At 23, Urzada received a diagnosis for stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma. To cope with cancer, she has created a series of prints with photographer Kiriako Iatridis that document the impacts of the disease and the famous five stages of grief.
The photos are part of the "Five 5tages" art show, which is taking place this weekend at Iatridis' Regina studio in support of the Hospitals of Regina Foundation as well as the Allan Blair Cancer Centre.
"These are emotions that people may or may not experience during their time with cancer or any traumatic event in life," Urzada told CBC Radio's Craig Lederhouse in an interview on TheAfternoon Edition.
"The photos expose me, my body and myself and my raw emotions."
Urzada explained that the images displayed at the gallery are around five feet in length.
"At that scale they're very powerful, even for me to see now," Urzada said.
Urzada said she had worked with Iatradis in the past and he approached her about the project because he lost his own father to cancer.
"He felt he wanted to give back as well and I was totally open to it," Urzada said.
She added that she wasn't nervous about revealing herself in part because of her prior experience in front of the camera.
"I found it quite therapeutic."
For more about the art project and fundraiser, visit the external link on the left side of the page.
And see the striking images for yourself below.
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
