Author: Luis Mercado

Artist Statement

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My name is Luis Mercado. I was diagnosed in 2021 with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer. The entire cancer journey felt like a dream to me. It felt like it never happened. Constant doctor visits, constant needles poking me, and constant shock and worry clouded my memory of the entire process. The animation is filled with clouds that act as the room space in each scene. The LED Cloud projectors in the installation is supposed to help visualize the mental state I went through during the cancer treatments. The narration is voiced by me. I wanted to provide some details and emphasis on my personality to give context as you watch and immerse yourself in the animation.

I animated this project using the Virtual Reality headset known as the Meta Quest 2. I used a VR art software program known as Quill to develop the animation. Quill is a painting and animation software capable of producing some amazing creations in a 3-Dimensional environment.

Work In Progress Part 14

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These are from the same shot, but they are slightly different. The top video, you can barely see my face. The bottom video, you can see more of my face and how depressed I felt. I was ready for it to be over. The bottom video also shows the doctor nodding his head to demonstrate him talking to me.

Work In Progress Part 13

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I went through so many MRI, PET, and CT Scans throughout the entire journey. In these shots, this is towards the end of the chemo process because my hair is gone and I have become numb to the process. I take a final breath as this is my last MRI scan to hopefully reveal that the cancer may or may not be gone.

Work In Progress Part 12

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In these next clips, I proceed to give a little more information about the setting. The chemotherapy bed is the most memorable part of the journey. It became my second home. I was angry at this point with myself. Constantly laying there in pity for myself. I started blaming myself. It was not a fun experience, especially towards the end of the chemo treatments.

I added some animbrush to the liquid flowing through the tubing to give a better understanding of some memorable details I went through. That IV stand is a staple to the chemo process.

 

Work In Progress Part 11

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All of these clips demonstrate the process in which I complete a shot. The first video shows the character’s reaction to the cancer diagnosis with the camera zooming in to an extreme close-up. The second clip then zooms out to reveal how fast his hair was going away due to chemotherapy. Then the final clip shows the space getting darker to correlate my emotional state. The character(me) accepts reality and gives in to the hair loss and the cancer treatment.