The MAC’s projects in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

After viewing A Different Kind of Different, an animated short film by Jordan Baseman, which charts the psychological impact of breast cancer, breast cancer survivor Naomi Connor (above) was propelled to build the confidence of women by being the main subject of a billboard campaign. The image was taken by Array Collective artist Emma Campbell and depicts a confident and courageous woman who has had a mastectomy. The billboard can be seen in various locations across Belfast.

Naomi said "It was a joy and revelation to take part in this project. It helped transcend the devastation that comes with a breast cancer diagnosis and replace it with hope and confidence. It is also about the judgement that comes with body image and the constant shame, stigma and impossible expectations that women face when it comes to how their bodies look, the choices they make about their bodies, their bodily autonomy and their very own agency. It is a defiance of those impossibilities and a statement of the importance of our differences and our personal dominion."

The quote within the billboard, "To be free from judgement, how amazing would that be" is a quote from Jordan Baseman's film A Different Kind of Different.

The billboard is a collaborative piece with input from Jordan Baseman.

It is part of a series of projects inspired by his animated film. This series of work supports Breast Cancer Awareness month.

During the month of October, the MAC has been working with the Knitted Knockers, a group of women who have had mastectomies. The women are creating casts of their busts led by artist Mayte Ruiz Cala. The casts will be exhibited in 2022.

Jordan Baseman’s animated film A Different Kind of Different will be screened at the MAC on 28th October at 6.30pm. It will be followed by a Q&A with the artist. The screening and Q&A are free to attend. Booking is essential here. Please email [email protected] with any queries.

This project has kindly been supported by the John Ellerman Foundation.

About the collaborators

Naomi Connor is co-convener of Alliance for Choice, an organisation that campaigns for abortion rights in Northern Ireland. Naomi is an outspoken advocate of women’s rights and reproductive justice in Northern Ireland.

Jordan Baseman is a visual artist, filmmaker and Reader in Time-based Media at the Royal College of Art. Jordan received a BFA from Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and an MA from Goldsmith's College, University of London.

Jordan’s films have featured in international exhibitions and film festivals including the 53rd Venice Biennale, Los Angeles Animation Festival (where he won Best Film in the Experimental Film category), San Francisco Short Film Festival, Melbourne Underground Film Festival (where he won Best International Short Film), Oaxaca International Film Festival, Lone Star International Film Festival (where he won Best Short Film), Fargo International Film Festival (where he won Best Experimental Film) Kansas City International Film Festival (where he won Best Experimental Short Film) and London Short Film Festival.

Jordan Baseman is represented by Matt’s Gallery London.

Emma Campbell is an artist based in Belfast. Emma gained her Documentary Photography BA (Hons) at U.W.C.N Newport in 2001, an MFA in Photography at Ulster University in 2012, and continues her practice-based PhD addressing photography as an activist tool, an artist practice and as reflexive academic inquiry in the movement for abortion rights. Inspired by practices employed by the women photography collectives in her historical research, she employs archive images, documentary, film, group performance, found images, street art and collage.

Emma is co-convenor of Alliance for Choice. Emma has exhibited in solo shows in Belfast, Dublin & Berlin and in group shows in London, Liverpool, Donegal, Dublin, Belfast, Stockholm, and Bangkok, as well as street art and online.

Emma is a member of Array Collective, a group of artists who join together to create collaborative actions in response to the sociopolitical issues affecting Northern Ireland. Array was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2021.