Ashley Savage: I Know Cancer Sucks

At the age of nineteen Californian born showgirl Tutu married a well known jazz musician she’d met while working at a club in Los Angeles. When the marriage crumbled a couple of years later, she decided to relocate to London. Her quirky and somewhat outrageous sense of style made her an instant hit on the alternative scene there. All of the gay boys loved her whilst straight boys called her a ‘fat cow,’ at the same time trying to stifle their erections. Tutu initially worked as a nanny in the day and became a stripper at night. Since those early days she’s performed at numerous clubs both in the UK and abroad. 

I first met Tutu in 1994 when she was performing her fabulously chaotic Doris Day versus Courtney Love striptease routine at the notorious Madame Jojo’s club deep in the heart of Soho. We instantly become friends and have collaborated regularly since that time. Tutu was attracted to the style of photography that I adopt as it tends to encompass diversity and veers away from representations of conventional beauty.

Sadly in 2009 Tutu discovered a lump in her breast, which was subsequently diagnosed as cancerous. The photographic series, ‘Cancer Sucks’ endeavours to document Tutu’s battle from the early stages of treatment. When we initially discussed this project we had decided that after Tutu had her reconstructive surgery, we would go to her home in Spain and take the final images of her in the mountains, with her girlfriend, Erica. Sadly this never happened as Tutu’s cancer spread rapidly to her bones and finally to her brain.

Photographing her final weeks wasn’t easy, but Tutu never lost her enthusiasm for this project. When she finally acknowledged to me that she knew her death was imminent, she told me to continue to photograph her to the end. I cannot easily describe the emotions I felt in doing so, but when I look back at the photos we created together, I feel incredibly privileged to have known and loved her.

Tutu’s wish was that this work be published and exhibited as she felt that documenting life’s traumas could be beneficial to others. She often said that this project was the best thing to have come out of her illness. Some time before her death, we collaborated with the shop, Earl Of Bedlam, in order to produce the Cancer Sucks T shirt. Proceeds from the sale will go towards the cost of exhibiting and touring the exhibition. We are currently looking for sponsors and suitable venues at which to show the work. Anyone wishing to help can contact me direct at ashleysavage@live.co.uk.