In 2023, Masha Solus’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer — exactly ten years after her father’s death from lymphoma. Cancer has haunted the family across generations.

The series is based on photographs of her mother taken during chemotherapy. Solus inverts and processes these images, using them as a starting point for watercolor works. Employing her signature method of inversion and predominantly cold blue tones, the artist visualizes the disease as an uncontrollable “monster” overtaking the body.

​

The blue palette references the medical “Code Blue” — the code for emergency resuscitation. Alongside the portraits, the series includes depictions of weeds as metaphors for cancer’s aggressive spread.