French photographer Kimbra Audrey has been known for her raw and emotionally rich film photography made without any retouching. This practice captures raw beauty and has allowed her to collaborate with several big brands such as Chanel and Vogue Italia. However, after being diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2022, Audrey has been dedicating her practice to documenting her experience with the illness, documenting her treatments, symptoms, pains and eventually recovery.
Her photographs help to raise awareness of the disease, which affects people with dominant progesterone hormones disproportionately. It also campaigns for regular check-ups and early detection which has been proven to save lives. This is why the breast cancer self-portraits that Kimbra Audrey did are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality and Good Health And Well-Being.
Kimbra’s self-portraits document how she had to undergo three breast biopsies and have 19 samples taken from them in the span of a month. Eventually, the only option was to have a mastectomy, a surgical procedure to remove all parts of the breast.
For Audrey, who had been taking self-portraits even before her breast cancer diagnosis, this was an especially harrowing experience. “I have been taking nude self-portraits for over a decade. Breasts are an important part of any woman, but mine are a part of my career. […] This was my way of saying goodbye to my breast, through self-portraits, documenting the harsh reality of being a young woman with breast cancer,” wrote Audrey about the photographs.
Audrey is not alone in her negative feelings about a mastectomy. A journal published on Cancer Research Statistics and Treatment found that up to 67 percent of breast cancer survivors struggle with their body image. This phenomenon often leads to psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety. However, Audrey’s practice of documenting her journey proved beneficial for her mental well-being. In a self-portrait she took after the surgery for a Levis campaign to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 501 jeans, she managed to write, “For over a decade, I had taken nude self-portraits, and my breasts were a crucial part of my career. Cancer didn’t stop that.”
Kimbra Audrey’s journey of documenting her battle with breast cancer through raw, unretouched film photography not only captures the profound personal impact of the disease but also serves as a powerful tool for raising awareness. Her self-portraits offer a candid look at the physical and emotional realities of cancer, emphasizing the importance of early detection and the psychological challenges faced by survivors. Through her work, Audrey reclaims her narrative, transforming a deeply personal struggle into a universal message of resilience and empowerment for all affected by breast cancer.
Find out more about breast cancer film photography documentation and other pieces by Kimbra Audrey on her website www.kimbraaudreyphoto.com or Instagram @kimbraaudrey.