Carolyn Lazard. In Sickness and Study. 2015-ongoing. Digital photographs.

Carolyn Lazard’s ongoing photographic series In Sickness and Study depicts the artist holding up different books ranging from critical theory to science fiction while receiving intravenous iron infusions to help manage their chronic illness. These photos, which are subsequently posted to a dedicated Instagram account, pair two critical forms of intake: biological and literary. This material pairing confuses the associated passivity of patienthood, opening up the space of receiving care to an active arena for seeking knowledge. Lazard’s reading practice coalesces with a dissemination and reification of self, serving as a model for making and engaging with alternative forms of data in and outside of medical frameworks.