The Life That Followed

Miami
@swatimakesthemsmile

Twist on Cancer: Past, present and future: What’s on the other side? I was diagnosed with lymphoma and confirmed to be in complete remission in 2009. A quick experience, but the scariest one in my 28 years of life. I asked so many questions but still felt clueless about what to expect or what was meant to happen. Seventeen years later, here I stand with only the memory of that experience, grateful for each new day I have and still terrified of what is to come. I choose mauve for love and compassion. I choose kelly green for lymphoma awareness. And I choose white for clarity and acceptance. Because life isn't about knowing what's on the other side; it's about allowing ourselves to have the courage to keep walking toward it. I dedicate this to Vishal Parikh for when I see you on the other side. Love, Swati.

Miami
@paufernandezvelasco

Artist Statement: This painting is a meditation on survivorship. Created in honor of Swati's 17 years in remission from lymphoma, the work transforms the colors associated with the disease into a landscape of resilience rather than illness. Layers of green and violet carry the memory of a life-altering diagnosis, while luminous yellows and subtle traces of red emerge as symbols of joy, hope, vitality and the quiet triumph of continuing to live. I was moved not only by her survival, but by everything those 17 years represent. We often celebrate the moment someone survives cancer, yet we rarely celebrate the life that follows the ordinary moments, the milestones, the dreams fulfilled and the simple privilege of breathing another day. This work is the celebration of her life. Through abstraction, I hope to create space for reflection, honoring both the weight of the journey and the beauty of what came after it. It is not a painting about cancer, but about the extraordinary act of continuing to live and finding light beyond survival.